Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby resumed practicing with teammates Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex facility in Cranberry.
Sidelined since abruptly leaving a scrimmage for undisclosed reasons Saturday, Crosby is centering the team’s top line during drills Friday.
Citing the NHL’s new rules on withholding medical information during the coronavirus pandemic, the Penguins have declined comment on the reason for Crosby’s absence. A team source indicated he had been held out of practices and scrimmages since Saturday a precautionary measure for a minor physical ailment.
Crosby skated prior to the team’s formal practice on an auxiliary rink with few apparent limitations. He joined his teammates just after the formal portion of practice began and received several “stick claps” upon his arrival.
The lines during practice:
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Conor Sheary
Jason Zucker – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Patrick Marleau – Jared McCann – Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty and Evan Rodrigues served as reserve forwards.
The defensive pairings were:
Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Jack Johnson – Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola – Chad Ruhwedel
Goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray also are participating in practice.
