Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel returned to the lineup Thursday after being activated from the NHL’s list for covid-19 protocol Thursday.

To make room for them, defensemen Taylor Fedun and Juuso Riikola were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The team initially announced Pettersson and Ruhwedel were placed into isolation for the virus Oct. 31. As a result, they each missed three games.

Before Thursday, Pettersson had appeared in eight games this season and scored four points (one goal, three assists), and Ruhwedel had no points in eight games.

Fedun was initially recalled Nov. 4 but has not appeared in an NHL game this season. Serving as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s captain, Fedun has played in eight AHL games and has three assists.

Recalled Oct. 23, Riikola dressed in each of the NHL Penguins’ past four games and recorded one assist. In three AHL games this season, Riikola has two assists.

With Pettersson and Ruhwedel back in the lineup, defenseman P.O Joseph was a healthy scratch along with forwards Sam Lafferty and Dominik Simon.

Forward Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin and coach Mike Sullivan remain in the league’s protocol for covid-19.

In total, the Penguins have had eight players miss games this season after testing positive for the virus.

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