Justin Schultz was back on the ice with teammates at Pittsburgh Penguins practice Monday, and neither the defenseman nor his coach would rule out the possibility of returning to game action Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers.
A day after leaving Sunday’s win against the Boston Bruins because of a hip injury, forward Dominik Simon also practiced fully and will play against the Flyers.
Dominik Kahun will not play. Coach Mike Sullivan said Kahun has been diagnosed with a concussion, and Kahun did not practice Monday.
Schultz has been out since Dec. 17, missing 15 games because of a lower-body injury. He’d been skating in recent days but Monday was his first full practice.
“No restrictions,” Schultz said of his participation level at Monday’s session at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “I felt good, and now it’s just a matter of making sure I am ready to step back in (the lineup). It’s still a point in the year where we don’t need to rush things if I’m not ready, so just making sure I am ready. And hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.”
The Penguins’ next two games are against the Flyers — but they are 10 days apart. After the All-Star break and the Penguins mini bye week, their next game after Tuesday is Jan. 31 at home to Philadelphia.
“We will make decisions accordingly,” Sullivan said, “but it’s not so much what we need to see from (Schultz). It’s a matter of having a conversation here with Justin and the medical staff and what we think is best for him and for the team. And so we will have that conversation and make the decisions accordingly.”
