Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang returned to practice Sunday in Cranberry, the first time he skated with teammates since suffering an undisclosed injury Nov. 4.
Letang practiced with no restrictions on contract and reported positive results afterward.
“I’m feeling good,” said Letang, who has missed eight games. “It was fun to be back on the ice with all the guys. I was getting lonely out there. It’s just fun to be a part of practice, get some motion and get back into the rhythm.”
Letang’s ailment had been described as “lower-body,” but he has been skating on his own before practices and morning skates.
“I’ve been skating for a little bit, over a week,” Letang said. “Like an hour a day. Just took it slowly and improved.”
Management appears optimistic about Letang’s availability for Monday’s home game against the Calgary Flames.
“His practice today was very encouraging,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ll see how he responds overnight, but my sense is he’ll be a game-time decision (Monday).”
The team never issued a timetable for his recovery, but Letang sounded encouraged.
“Quicker than what we thought,” Letang said. “I guess it went smoothly.”
Letang’s potential return would boost a blue line that also is missing offensive defenseman Justin Schultz because of an undisclosed injury.
“What can I say about what he brings to the team?” Sullivan said of Letang. “He’s an elite defenseman. He plays in all the key situations for us. When he’s in the lineup, we’re a better hockey team.”
Notes:
The Penguins lines and pairs in practice were:
Jake Guentzel — Evgeni Malkin — Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk — Jared McCann — Brandon Tanev
Dominik Kahun — Dominik Simon — Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese — Teddy Blueger — Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin — Kris Letang
Jack Johnson — John Marino
Marcus Pettersson — Zach Trotman
Juuso Riikola — Chad Ruhwedel
• The first power-play unit was composed of Guentzel, Hornqvist, Malkin, Letang and Rust. The second unit featured a combination of Galchenyuk, Kahun, McCann, Pettersson, Riikola and Trotman.
