Kris Letang returned to the ice Monday after clearing NHL covid-19 protocols, but two other Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman were confirmed positive for the virus.
Letang had served his 10 days of isolation after a positive test and was cleared by medical personnel after a screening for cardiomyopathy, coach Mike Sullivan said after Monday’s practice. Soon after Sullivan spoke, Letang briefly took to the ice for the first time since he was prevented from playing in the Oct. 23 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He will skate (Tuesday),” Sullivan said, referring to an off day for the team from practice, “and then I would anticipate he joins the team on Wednesday.”
The Penguins’ next practice is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Cranberry.
Coach Mike Sullivan believes the spate of covid positive tests on the Penguins roster recently is more bad luck and not a poor reflection on the players pic.twitter.com/xvAX5Kfvud
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 1, 2021
Defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson were not at practice Monday, a day after the team announced each was placed on the covid list. Sullivan on Monday said Ruhwedel and Pettersson were confirmed positive for covid-19.
“Marcus has shown some signs of symptoms,” Sullivan said. “To this point, Chad has not.”
That development at least opens the door that Ruhwedel could not be forced to miss any games. Although players in protocol must remain in isolation for 10 days, vaccinated players may be released early from isolation if they are asymptomatic and test negative on two consecutive days within that 10-day window.
The Penguins’ next scheduled game is Thursday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Ruhwedel and Pettersson join John Marino and Brian Dumoulin as the only defensemen to appear in all eight games this season. If Ruhwedel and Pettersson do not play Thursday, that would mean only nine players on the roster would have appeared in each of the Penguins’ first nine games.
