Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson remained sidelined for Sunday’s 6-3 victory against the rival Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.

He remains on injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment.

Sidelined for the past nine games, he was injured during a 5-4 home win against the Capitals on Jan. 19. During the second period of that contest, he was knocked down after a violent check in the neutral zone by Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. Pettersson’s left shoulder appeared to bear the brunt of the collision.

On Saturday, Pettersson participated in practice in a full-contact capacity. Despite that, he was not cleared for Sunday’s game.

“We’re certainly encouraged with the progress that he’s made,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “He participated in practice (Saturday) in a full capacity, full contact. We’ll see how he reacts to that. Our medical staff will have conversations with Marcus today and then advise the coaching staff on how to proceed.”

In four games this season, Pettersson has one goal.

DeSmith scratched with illness

Before Sunday’s game, the Penguins recalled goaltender Maxime Lagace from their taxi squad on an emergency basis. He served as the backup to starter Tristan Jarry.

According to Sullivan, regular backup goaltender Casey DeSmith was scratched because of an illness that was not related to covid-19.

Lagace is in his first year with the Penguins organization. The team signed the 28-year-old as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason to a one-year two-way deal worth $700,000.

Sceviour stays in lineup

Forward Colton Sceviour was in the lineup for the second consecutive game. The veteran had been a healthy scratch for three games before dressing for Thursday’s 4-3 overtime road win against the Islanders.

Before Sunday, Sceviour had appeared in nine games and scored two goals.

Sullivan expressed satisfaction with what Sceviour has offered but suggested he can provide more.

“Colton, he’s a good role player,” Sullivan said. “He’s a guy that we can use on the penalty kill. He’s a guy that, I think, makes us harder to play against. He’s reliable and trustworthy defensively. And that’s the dimension that he brings to our team.

“But having said that … he’s in a healthy competition with the group of forwards that we have. In order for players in that role to be in the lineup on a consistent basis, they have to make an impact on the game.”

Gaudreau back to taxi squad

Reserve forward Frederick Gaudreau was quietly assigned to the taxi squad Friday after being recalled to the NHL roster Thursday.

Sullivan explained the maneuvering of Gaudreau was related to the salary cap.

With Gaudreau and his league-minimum $700,000 contract on the active roster for a day, the Penguins were able to inch closer to the NHL’s salary cap ceiling of $81.5 million. The purpose of that was to maximize the amount of cap relief they could claim with defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Juuso Riikola and forward Evan Rodrigues on long-term injured reserve.

Such a tactic can permit a team to take on more salary in a potential roster move later in the season such as a trade.

As for Gaudreau’s NHL credentials, Sullivan served up a stout endorsement of what the veteran can potentially offer.

“He can play center. He can play the wing,” Sullivan said. “He has some NHL experience. He’s a real important depth player for us.

“We’ve got a player in Freddy Gaudreau that we know we can put in our lineup, and we’re confident that he can help us win games.”

Quick hits

In addition to DeSmith, the Penguins’ scratches were rookie forward Drew O’Connor and defenseman Yannick Weber. … New general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were each in attendance for the first time since joining the team.

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