DENVER — With Sidney Crosby joining the Pittsburgh Penguins on their road trip, which commenced Tuesday night at Las Vegas, continues Friday against Colorado and wraps Sunday at Arizona, there had been speculation the injured captain is nearing a return to the lineup.

Crosby, who has missed 26 games since being sidelined with a core muscle injury suffered Nov. 9, for which he had surgery to remedy a sports hernia on Nov. 14, skated with the team during practice in Las Vegas but took a scheduled day off Thursday in Denver.

“Sid’s going through a rehab process, and (with) the nature of this injury, it’s an evolving process,” coach Mike Sullivan said after practice Thursday. “Part of that process is introducing him to the team environment, and then, obviously, we see how he responds. The medical staff makes decisions accordingly.”

Justin Schultz, who has been out of commission because of a lower-body injury since mid-December, took a light skate during roughly the final 15 minutes of practice at Pepsi Center.

Nick Bjugstad, who’s missed the last 24 games with a core muscle injury, also skated briefly Thursday. He and Schultz took the ice long after the rest of the team wrapped up drills and were the final two Penguins on the ice.

Sullivan did not give a definitive answer on the three players’ statuses heading into Friday night’s game against the Avalanche, although he expressed optimism regarding Crosby in particular.

“He’s had some really strong days,” Sullivan said. “You can see him getting stronger with each day that he’s out there. Everyone looks up to him. He’s got a great presence and is a great teammate. He’s close friends with these guys, so for him to be around the team like this is terrific for all of us.”

Third line forging identity

Sullivan has been impressed with the third line of Teddy Blueger flanked by Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev. Sullivan noted the blend of physicality and offense that line has created.

“We’ve really liked Teddy Blueger’s line. That’s why we’ve kept them together,” Sullivan said. “They’ve got a unique identity on this team. They’re a great checking line, and we utilize them in a capacity that helps us. They’ve (also) helped us offensively.”

In the Penguins’ last five games dating to a 5-2 Dec. 30 win over Ottawa, Aston-Reese, Blueger and Tanev have led the team’s offensive lines in hits four of five times.

Tanev scored a goal Tuesday vs. Vegas, and Blueger added the secondary assist on his linemate’s tally. Saturday, in the Pens’ 3-2 overtime win at Montreal, Tanev and Aston-Reese scored and Blueger chipped in a pair of assists.

Sullivan sees benefits of tweaks

Starting with last Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Sullivan inserted Dominik Kahun into the Penguins’ first line at left wing, supporting Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. Over the few games before that, Alex Galchenyuk had assumed the left wing on Malkin’s line.

The 24-year-old Kahun assisted in Malkin’s first-period goal in Tuesday’s 4-3 win at Las Vegas and scored one of his own later in the second, giving the Penguins a 3-0 lead.

On the season, he has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 42 games played.

“He has real good offensive instincts, he has playmaking ability and he can finish,” Sullivan said of Kahun. “Based on that we thought, he was one of the guys we could plug into that line with Geno and Rusty, and it could potentially work.

“We’ve got a number of candidates, but, obviously, we’re trying to surround Geno with people that can help him be successful, and in turn it helps us be successful. Were also trying to create some balance in our lineup so that we have the ability to score goals throughout our lineup.”

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