Sidney Crosby got a lot of work on the ice at PPG Paints Arena Thursday morning.
He will not, however, get any his evening.
Mike Sullivan said after the team's optional game-day skate that Crosby, who is recovering from wrist surgery, will not be in the lineup for their game against the Flames tonight at 7:08.
Crosby had an on-ice workout with injured winger Bryan Rust at PPG Paints Arena, then was one of 13 players to participate in the team's optional skate a short time later.
Being involved in both probably was a clue that he wouldn't face the Flames, because most players would not want to expend that much energy in workouts before playing a few hours later.
There's no question that Crosby, barring a setback, is close to playing; his next opportunity will come when the Devils visit PPG Paints Arena Saturday.
Sullivan declined to elaborate on when and how the decision to have Crosby sit out a seventh consecutive game was made, but reiterated that he is close to playing.
"The timeline on how we deal with Sid, I think we'll keep internally," he said. "That's something that, we make daily decisions with our medical staff on a daily basis, at this point. We're at that stage, where Sid is really getting closer and closer.
"We consult with our medical staff throughout the course of each day, the first thing in the morning after an overnight. And we get feedback from those guys and a lot of it, quite honestly, is based on Sid's feedback, as well, and where he's at. We're trying to make sure we put Sid in the best possible position to be successful, so we make those decisions daily."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Casey DeSmith will be in goal for the Penguins, his second start of the season.
• Sullivan said he expects Jeff Carter, who is in the COVID-19 protocol but has remained asymptomatic, to rejoin the team Friday. He added that Kris Letang, also in the protocol, remains symptomatic.
• Calgary is one of the NHL's early-season surprises, getting off to a 4-1-1 start. "They're playing extremely well," Sullivan said. And while he described the Flames as "a well-balanced team," the Penguins will probably want to pay special attention to Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane. Each of them has scored seven goals, the same total the rest of their team has generated through six games.
• Assistant coach Mike Vellucci had Drew O'Connor trying to control faceoffs with the shaft, not the blade, of his stick. O'Connor was surprisingly successful at it, although that's probably not something he'll try in a game.
• Evgeni Malkin, who is recovering from knee surgery, did not participate in the workout with Rust. He has done that several times recently.
• Participants in the skate: Tristan Jarry, Chad Ruhwedel, Dominik Simon, Mark Friedman, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Sam Lafferty, Casey DeSmith, Brian Boyle, DeSmith, O'Connor and Crosby.
• There was no indication of the personnel combinations that will be used against the Flames because it was an optional skate.
