Penguins defenseman Kris Letang rebounding after bout with covid-19

Kris Letang is no stranger to health woes. The all-star defenseman has had his fair share of bumps and bruises over 16 seasons in the NHL.

And more.

From concussions to a herniated disc in his neck to — inexplicably — a stroke, Letang’s considerable success has come despite immense impediments that have cost him many games.

The past four games he missed throughout October were because of a factor that has become all too common for the Pittsburgh Penguins — and the world.

Covid-19.

Letang tested positive for the virus and was placed into isolation Oct. 23. He emerged from isolation Monday and took to the ice to skate by himself on two consecutive days.

On Wednesday, he rejoined his teammates in a practice for the first time.

Letang, like all of the Penguins, is fully vaccinated but was symptomatic during his 10-day isolation.

“Pretty much all the symptoms,” said Letang, 34. “Congestion, headaches, pressures in the forehead, coughing, lost taste and smell. And body aches. A lot of pain in the lower back and stuff like that. But that lasted, I would say, four and five days and, after that, I was just getting better and better every day.”

The six-time All-Star admitted he had some unease over the virus and the challenges it can pose to the heart. In 2014, Letang suffered a stroke at the age of 26 partly because of a small hole in his heart that has been present since birth.

Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, has shown to be more common in people who contract covid-19.

“Obviously, I’m informed of everything that can go wrong,” said Letang, who underwent mandatory cardiac screenings after testing positive. “It was a concern. I was a little bit nervous. But when I kind of saw the end of all the symptoms and all the tests that I had to go through at the hospital and everything was good, I was pretty relieved. But for sure, the first four days when you’re feeling not that good and you’re laying in bed just thinking about the worst, sometimes it kind of creeps in your mind. But it went away quick.”

The Penguins are hoping Letang can quickly regain his conditioning after so much time off his skates. During Wednesday’s practice, he skated on the team’s top defensive pairing as well as with the top power-play group.

A potential return by Letang to the lineup for Thursday’s home game against the rival Philadelphia Flyers would help offset, somewhat, the presumed absences of forward Sidney Crosby as well as defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel, all in isolation after testing positive for covid-19.

“I felt pretty good (Wednesday),” Letang said. “I skated after the guys (practice) on Monday. I skated on my own Tuesday for an hour and a half at a pretty high intensity. So (Wednesday) was another step in the right direction and I felt pretty good. Pretty sure (Thursday) morning, I’ll skate and see how it goes.”

“Monday and Tuesday were pretty hard. … The first four days (of isolation), you can’t even do anything because you’re so tired and you have all the symptoms. But the last five days, I would say I wish I could have exercised, but per the protocol, I had to wait and get all my screening done. As soon as I stepped on the ice, you feel it, like in the lungs. The fact that I coughed a lot during those days probably didn’t help either. But I felt like (Tuesday), I cleared all the bad stuff inside of me, and today, I felt really good. I wouldn’t say I’m where I want to be but I’m pretty sure I’m going to get there pretty quick.”

Notes

• The Penguins’ lines and pairings in practice were:

59 Jake Guentzel – 77 Jeff Carter – 43 Danton Heinen

16 Jason Zucker – 9 Evan Rodrigues – 42 Kasperi Kapanen

12 Zach Aston-Reese – 53 Teddy Blueger – 23 Brock McGinn

10 Drew O’Connor – 11 Brian Boyle – 18 Sam Lafferty/49 Dominik Simon

5 Mike Matheson – 58 Kris Letang

73 P.O Joseph – 6 John Marino

50 Juuso Riikola – 52 Mark Friedman

• The top power-play unit included Carter, Guentzel, Kapanen, Letang and Rodrigues. The second power-play unit involved Heinen, O’Connor, Riikola, Simon and Zucker.

• Forward Bryan Rust participated in a non-contact jersey. He has been sidelined since Oct. 14 with an undisclosed injury.

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