Sidney Crosby took a significant step last week in his rehabilitation from sports hernia surgery when he began skating individually.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that he believes Monday marked the sixth day that Crosby has been on the ice. Currently, there is not a target date for his return — at least not a public one. The captain is not expected to join Pittsburgh during its three-game swing in western Canada.
“He’s making progress in his rehab process,” Sullivan said. “We’re encouraged by where he’s at. When he gets closer, we’ll update you.”
When the Penguins announced that Crosby underwent successful surgery at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia on Nov. 14, the team said he would miss a minimum of six weeks. For what it’s worth, Dec. 26 would mark exactly six weeks from the procedure.
Typically, injured Penguins skate individually. Then, they participate in a full-team practice — or for longer injuries, a couple full-team practices — before returning to the lineup on game night. So Crosby still has a few more steps to take before his return becomes imminent.
Initially, Crosby was injured during training camp. But he played through the injury for the first six weeks of the season, and did so quite well.
At the time of his surgery, he led the team in scoring with 17 points (12 assists and five goals) in 17 games. The toughness and determination Crosby showed to try to play through the pain was recognized by his teammates.
“It’s just the type of leader he is,” Crosby’s linemate Jake Guentzel said at the time. “He wants to play through everything. He wants to be out there with our team. Just the true captain that he is.”
In addition to Crosby, the Penguins are still dealing with long-term injuries to Patric Hornqvist (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery) and Brian Dumoulin (ankle surgery to repair torn ligaments).
Over the course of the season, the list of players who have missed multiple games has become long and significant. In addition to the players already mentioned, it includes Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jared McCann and Alex Galchenyuk.
Yet, Pittsburgh continues to stay afloat. Entering Thursday night, they are tied for third in the Metro Division with the Carolina Hurricanes with 42 points, just four behind the second-place New York Islanders (46). The Washington Capitals lead the Metro with 53 points.
“Guys are stepping up and making plays for us at key times, whether it’s scoring goals or blocking a shot or winning a faceoff or some of the little things that go unnoticed that help teams win,” Sullivan said. “I give our players a lot of credit through this bit of adversity that has hit us now for a long time.”
Malkin returns to practice, ‘good chance’ he’ll play
After missing the last two games because of an illness, Malkin returned to practice on Monday. He wore a black, full-contact jersey and played on the power play — two encouraging signs.
Malkin said he felt fatigued, a sore throat, a cough and runny nose. Feel free to WebMD those symptoms to get a diagnosis. He’s spent the last couple days in bed, pumping fluids and electrolytes. But with a nasally voice, he said he’s still fighting the lingering effects and doesn’t feel 100% yet.
“Last three days, not fun,” Malkin said. “I feel better every day. More energy ... I hope to feel better tomorrow.”
Sullivan called Malkin’s return to the ice “encouraging” and said he’ll keep tabs on the center’s energy level before filling out the lineup.
Malkin said his legs were feeling especially tired after skating for the first time in a couple days. Asked directly if he’ll play tomorrow, Malkin said “there’s a good chance.”
“It’s not 100%,” Malkin said. “But I’m trying. We have so many injured guys. I want [to] play. Three games before Christmas, long trip. But I don’t want to stay in my room all day. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Illness spreads to Rust
The illness that's bounced around the Penguins’ locker room with the accuracy of a tape-to-tape pass evidently has spread across Pittsburgh’s new-look top line. Rust was the latest player to miss practice on Monday, just days after Malkin battled his illness
On Monday, Rust stayed at the team hotel in Calgary instead of practicing. Dominik Simon filled in on the top line’s right wing.
Sullivan said the team will “see how he is tomorrow” before deciding his availability for Tuesday’s game against the Calgary Flames.
Exploring other options on the blue line
Dumoulin’s ankle surgery — which is expected to keep him out, at a minimum, through the end of January — has forced the Penguins to make some tough decisions on the blue line.
The last six games, the right-handed Letang played on his unnatural left side with rookie righty John Marino. The thinking was that Letang could use his mobility to make up for some of the awkward stickhandling situations. Plus, he has the freedom to roam all over the place anyway.
“Obviously, you’re on your backhand,” Letang said about playing the left side. “So if pucks are coming hard or stuck on the walls, it’s tough to play them. ... It’s tough to keep pucks in when they’re fired on your backhand.”
Letang is an all-star and one of the league’s most unique defensemen. Marino is a rookie who is making the sixth-round pick general manager Jim Rutherford spent on him feel like a heist.
But together, with Letang on the left, it doesn’t seem to be working.
“I think they’ve played pretty well,” Sullivan said. “Last game, they had a couple difficult moments. Part of it is we’re putting them in tough spots because they’re playing the off side. That’s not an easy thing when you’re not used to playing that way. It’s not always their fault.”
The last three games combined, both players are minus-3. Letang had a three-game goal-scoring streak before Dumoulin’s injury. But he's been held without a goal in the six games he played the left side.
On Monday, the Penguins explored some other options. Letang moved back to his natural right side. Marino took his turn playing on the left.
“We’re trying to figure out who best fits in that spot, given the righties that we have in that lineup,” Sullivan said. “We like that pair. We thought we would try this to see if it’s more effective.
“We’re just trying to explore it a little bit. We haven’t made a final decision.”
First Published: December 16, 2019, 10:08 p.m.
