CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The news out of Monday's practice at the Lemieux Complex wasn't entirely bad for the Penguins.
Though six players -- Evan Rodrigues, Teddy Blueger, Tristan Jarry, John Marino, Mike Matheson, and Dominik Simon -- were added to the league's COVID protocol list, two players made a significant step toward returning to the lineup.
Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin both skated with full contact for the first time since their respective injuries, with Rust working back from a lower-body injury suffered on Nov. 26 and Malkin looking to play his first game of the season after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
"They appeared to do very well," Mike Sullivan said of Rust and Malkin skating with full contact. "I thought they had strong practices."
Rust said after practice that he "feels good," and could potentially play in the Penguins' next game on Friday. That is, if it doesn't get postponed like the Penguins last four games.
"Hopefully soon," he said of his impending return. "I guess we'll see, the plan is to have a game in Ottawa. Hopefully I'll be able to play in that one, but we'll see how the schedule works out."
Sullivan agreed that it's "reasonable" that Rust returns Friday, but said he doesn't believe Malkin would be ready that soon.
"Certainly, they're both making significant progress with the fact that they participated in practice in a full capacity today," he said. "I think Rusty, there's a reasonable chance that we would get Rusty back (Friday), but I think it would be aggressive on Geno's part."
Especially after Monday's news of the different players entering COVID protocol, Rust's teammates are eager to have him back.
"It's great, Rusty is a really important player for us," Kris Letang said. "He plays in all situation, PK power play. He's a player you can rely on in crunch time. So it's good to have a guy like that back. You know, he's been dealing with some injuries this year. And it's always fun to to have him back in our lineup."
Rust said that this season hasn't been "ideal" for him, between this lower-body injury and an upper-body injury he suffered in the Penguins' second game of the season. He's played just 12 games this season, scoring two goals and seven assists.
Rust is in the final year of his contract that carries a $3.5 million cap hit, and is certainly in line for a raise this offseason. He said that his frustration over his injuries this season hasn't been exacerbated by it being a contract year "not even a little bit."
"I've been in the league for a long time now," he said. "Things happen, injuries happen to everybody. The timing of it can suck sometimes but it is what it is, you've got to take your adversity as it comes. You've got to just keep your head down, motor through it. Now that I'm going to be healthy again soon, just try and get out there and play well, help the team win games and do what I do."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Jason Zucker, who missed five previous practices this month with maintenance days, was absent from practice again. Sullivan said that Zucker is now considered week-to-week with a "nagging" lower-body injury.
• Jake Guentzel missed practice with a non-COVID illness, Sullivan said they hopes he returns to the team "fairly soon."
• Sullivan said that some of the players in protocol have mild symptoms, but for the most part are doing well. More on that here.
• No players have been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton yet, so it was a shorthanded group in practice. These were the lines and pairings used, with a couple of coaches filling in:
Evgeni Malkin - Sidney Crosby -Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese - Drew O'Connor - Brock McGinn
Ty Hennes - Brian Boyle - Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Chad Ruhwedel
Todd Reirden - Mark Friedman
Again, don't read too much into Malkin playing on the wing in practice. Sullivan reiterated today that Malkin's still a center.
"I wouldn't anticipate him playing the wing on a consistent basis," he said. "You know, we really like him at the center ice position."
• Lemieux Complex goaltending coach Mike Chiasson filled in as the second goaltender.
• There was only one power play unit in practice: Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter, Malkin and Rust.
• The NHL on Sunday reinstated taxi squads for this season up until the All-Star break. They function as they did last season, with an exception being certain waivers-exempt players being ineligible based on when they were on an NHL roster this season, with the only Penguins player ineligible for the taxi squad being Drew O'Connor. The rule prevents NHL teams from moving players back and forth from the taxi squads on off days to save cap space on off days, as the Penguins did with several players last season.
Also unlike last season, taxi squads aren't mandatory this season and there is no minimum number of players that must be on one. Sullivan said that he anticipates using the taxi squad option, but management is still working out exactly how.
"We're sorting through that, all of us involved," Sullivan said. "(Ron Hextall's) people in hockey ops and the coaching staff, we're sorting through that right now. I would anticipate in my preliminary discussions with Hexy that we would utilize the taxi squad in certain instances. For example, we've got that trip coming out west. That might be a circumstance where we utilize a taxi squad and bring some extra guys out there. Just logistically, it's a challenge if you end up needing guys when you're already on the other side of the country."
• Wilkes-Barre was going through its own COVID/injury illnesses as of late, it's my understanding that forwards Filip Hallander and Jamie Devane are the only two players there remaining in COVID protocol, though not all of the players previously in protocol are ready to return to play. Injured goaltenders Louis Dominuge and Filip Lindberg are both about ready to return, as is forward Kasper Bjorkqvist. Forward Michael Chaput is the only skater still not practicing due to injury.
• Though the NHL withdrew from Olympic participation, Sullivan offered to help Team USA as much as he can from afar, though acknowledged that it would be difficult to do so.
"I certainly offered if I can help them in any way, just through the preparation process that we've gone through to this point," Sullivan said. "I'd be more than happy to help them but it's a whole different player pool. So it's it's difficult. It would be difficult for me to participate in that aspect just because I'm not familiar with the players that the pool that they're choosing from. But in other aspects, I certainly offered to help just as far as the preparation process and what the coaching staff has gone through prepared to this point."
