CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Sidney Crosby was obviously displeased with his performance in his season debut on Saturday, his first game back after his recovery from offseason wrist surgery.
"You want to win and and play well, and that didn't happen tonight," Crosby said after that game. "So, got some improving to do here."
He'll have to wait a little longer to make that happen.
Mike Sullivan announced after practice Wednesday at the Lemieux Complex that both Crosby and Brian Dumoulin were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19, after both were absent from practice.
Sullivan said that Crosby is displaying mild symptoms, while Dumoulin remains asymptomatic.
Sullivan hadn't had time to speak with Crosby before meeting with reporters following Wednesday's practice, but said that he's "sure he's discouraged" after testing positive so soon after his return from his wrist surgery.
"He's worked extremely hard to get to this point," Sullivan said of Crosby. "You know, we were all so excited about getting him back in the lineup, and just getting him back in the fold. This just puts another roadblock in front of it. But we'll control what we can here, we've got capable people."
Crosby and Dumoulin join defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel on the Penguins' COVID list, both of whom Sullivan said have "shown mild symptoms, but are at this point improving."
NHL protocols require that players who are vaccinated, test positive for COVID, and are symptomatic, remain in protocol for 10 days from the onset of symptoms. If a player is vaccinated and remain asymptomatic, then two negative tests 24 hours apart can clear them from protocol.
The Penguins have now had eight confirmed positive cases since the start of training camp. Jake Guentzel and Zach Aston-Reese tested positive during camp, and Kris Letang and Jeff Carter tested positive earlier in the season. Of those four, only Aston-Reese and Letang were symptomatic.
All of the Penguins' players are vaccinated. Nearly every player in the entire league is vaccinated, with Detroit's Tyler Bertuzzi being the lone exception.
After Guentzel and Aston-Reese tested positive, the Penguins started taking more precautions, including testing players every day instead of once a week like the NHL requires. They've also taken more precautions to spread players out when off the ice, like during meetings.
"We are trying to do all the right things," Sullivan said. "We do have a discussion -- if not daily -- a few times a week about it. And I know our players and our staff, we're all trying to do the right things as far as mitigating the risk. Our team has taken on more responsibility, just with testing and things of that nature to try to do the right thing and identify a case when it pops up, and trying to remove them from the group."
Away from the rink, players have been trying to stay safe. Letang said that players are staying "low-key," and not around many bars or restaurants.
"Sometimes you see a guy that was really, really careful and he ends up getting it and you have no idea how he did it," Letang said.
Sullivan said that the coaching staff has considered canceling practices on some days to try to lessen the risk of COVID spreading between players. He called Tuesday's scheduled day off a "blessing," given that Crosby and Dumoulin tested positive Wednesday morning. He said that moving forward, he's not sure how the staff is going to make decisions when it comes to future prevention.
"What I will tell you is is that our coaching staff and (Ron Hextall), we sit together daily and we and we run these scenarios through across the table, and we're trying to do our very best to keep our players and their families as safe as they can. But we're also trying to function through this process as well, and trying to win hockey games."
The Penguins have yet to have a widespread outbreak like that of the Sharks, for example. The Sharks added seven players, the head athletic trainer, and head coach Bob Boughner to the COVID protocol list within a span of a few days in the last week.
Letang said that while the Penguins have had a relatively high number of cases throughout the course of the season so far, he thinks that the team and players have done a good job of preventing the spread with the precautions they've taken.
"If somebody turns positive it affects the entire group, Letang said. "In other employment, you just have to stay home and you can still work on your computer or do things. This is going to affect a lot of guys. So we stay pretty vigilant, and I think I've been doing a good job of wearing a mask and making sure that it doesn't go crazy with a lot of cases. I know we got a lot, but it was only like two at a time. I think it's why we're wearing the masks and all that."
