Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry's status remains uncertain

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s uncertain status remains … well … uncertain.

Sidelined for the past seven games, Jarry was absent from Thursday’s practice session at the team’s facility in Cranberry in order to attend previously scheduled doctors’ appointments, coach Mike Sullivan said.

Jarry is slated to join his teammates Friday in Elmont, N.Y., for their game against the New York Islanders.

His availability for that game — or any game in the near future — is a matter of speculation.

The nature or severity of Jarry’s injury never has been formally identified publicly. The factors leading to the ailment are still a matter of mystery as well.

On Jan. 24, Jarry was proclaimed the team’s starting goaltender for a home contest against the Florida Panthers following that day’s morning skate. But by the time warmups began, Jarry was absent and the team was forced to play backup goaltender Casey DeSmith in a 7-6 home overtime win.

Following the game, Sullivan indicated he was uncertain as to how Jarry became injured.

By Feb. 7, Jarry was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 22, the day he played his most recent game, a 2-1 overtime road loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Jarry accompanied the team on its recent road trip through California and practiced in a full capacity before being absent from Thursday’s session.

A two-time All-Star, Jarry has appeared in 27 games this season and has a 16-5-5 record, a 2.65 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and one shutout.

Notes: Injured Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman and Ryan Poehling also missed Thursday’s practice because of undisclosed injuries that prevented them from playing in Tuesday’s 3-1 road win against the San Jose Sharks. Sullivan indicated both players still were being evaluated. … Defenseman Jan Rutta, sidelined the past 11 games, participated in Thursday’s practice session in a full capacity but skated on a “fourth” defensive pairing with forward Danton Heinen. There was no official word on his status. Rutta is eligible to be removed from long-term injured reserve, but a number of other transactions — namely removing other players from the active roster in some fashion — would need to be performed in order for Rutta to be activated while keeping the team compliant with the NHL’s salary cap.