Letang Confirmed Positive for COVID; Crosby Getting "A Whole Lot Closer"

Here are the updates from the Penguins' Monday practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex following a day off on Sunday.

1. Letang confirmed positive for COVID
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that defenseman Kris Letang had confirmed positive for COVID-19.
"He's in the protocol right now," Sullivan said.
Letang had missed Pittsburgh's 7-1 win over Toronto on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena while being in the process of getting his initial positive test confirmed. Forward Jeff Carter is also in the COVID-19 protocol, and has been sidelined since the team announced he had confirmed positive on Thursday, Oct. 21.
From an injury standpoint, Bryan Rust (lower-body, week-to-week) skated before practice with Evgeni Malkin, who is out for at least the first two months of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
Rust has been out since leaving in the third period of the Penguins' second game of the season on Thursday, Oct. 14 at Florida. Sullivan said the fact that the winger is on the ice is encouraging, and he'll continue to go through the rehab process.
"His status hasn't changed. The biggest indicator that his status changes is when he starts to join the team practice," Sullivan said. "That's when it turns from a week-to-week thing to potentially a day-to-day thing. He's not there yet, so his status hasn't changed. But the fact that he's on the ice and skating is encouraging."
2. Crosby "a whole lot closer"
And speaking of encouraging - Sidney Crosby skated with the Penguins for the third time in a row on Monday.
"The fact that Sid is starting to participate consistently in our team practices is real encouraging, and that suggests he's a whole lot closer," Sullivan said of the Penguins captain, who has yet to make his season debut after undergoing a wrist procedure on Sep. 8.
When Crosby spoke on Friday, he said joining the team meant he could do more as far as having more force - battling, pushing, shoving and just generally going up against guys. He said seeing how that progression goes will determine when he plays.
"Obviously, we want to get Sid in the lineup as quickly as we possibly can," Sullivan said. "He's that much of a difference maker for us. But we also want to make sure that we do it in a safe manner, and that's an important aspect of it as well. We'll rely and trust on our medical team that I think does such a great job in preparing our players for return to play, and making sure we do it in the safest manner possible."
During this particular session, the Penguins started with special teams work, and Crosby rotated in with Danton Heinen on the second power-play unit for a number of reps.
Crosby then did line rushes on a regular basis for the first time, centering Zucker and Heinen, with Drew O'Connor rotating in once on each wing. Here is the order the Penguins used…
Guentzel-Rodrigues-Kapanen
Zucker-Crosby-Heinen (O'Connor)
Aston-Reese-Blueger-McGinn
Simon-Boyle-Lafferty
PP1) Marino, Guentzel, Zucker, Kapanen, Rodrigues
PP2) Matheson, Pettersson, O'Connor, Simon, Heinen/Crosby
3. Embodying the 'next-man-up' mentality
Playing without a player of Letang's stature is never easy. Although if Saturday's victory over the Maple Leafs was any indication, the Penguins' group of defensemen are up to the challenge.
Third-year blueliner John Marino logged over 26 minutes on the top pairing alongside Brian Dumoulin. Mike Matheson recorded a goal and an assist playing with Chad Ruhwedel. Marcus Pettersson tallied a goal and two assists in the win, while his D partner Mark Friedman also recorded an assist. That pairing combined for a plus-10 rating.
Friedman said it was important for him to trust his instincts and not do anything different after getting the call to slot in..
"This league's about opportunity, and you just got to pounce on your opportunity when your name is called," Friedman said. "It's just the times we're living in now with COVID, guys getting affected by it. … I'm just going to go out there and play my game, and not do anything different, (just) do what I've been doing to get me to this point.
"The second I start changing, that's when stuff is going to happen in a negative way. The more I can use my skating and my edge to my game, that's when I feel I'm at my best, and when I can contribute in a positive way."
Ahead of Saturday's rematch against the two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, which will be another big challenge, the team is confident that their defenders will help set the pace.
"They're a good team," goalie Tristan Jarry said. "They've got some high-scoring offensive players, and they play a good defensive team. They're a big team. So I think it's just getting pucks in deep and doing what we do. Then, just playing good defense turns into offense for us."