Penguins forward Sidney Crosby remains sidelined

Penguins forward Sidney Crosby will not play in Thursday’s home game against the Calgary Flames.

Coach Mike Sullivan announced Crosby’s status following an optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena.

Crosby remains sidelined as he recovers from offseason surgery to a chronically injured left wrist. That surgery took place on Sept. 8.

The Penguins’ captain participated in the morning skate after skating beforehand in a workout along with fellow injured forward Bryan Rust, sidelined since suffering an undisclosed ailment on Oct. 14.

“The time line with how we deal with Sid, I think we’ll keep internally,” Sullivan said. “That’s something that we make 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 … 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.

In recent days, Crosby has increased his participation in practices and morning skate. During a practice session on Wednesday, he centered the team’s top line with Jake Guentzel on the left wing and Evan Rodrigues manning the right wing. Additionally, Crosby worked on the team’s top power-play unit.

On Wednesday, Sullivan labeled Crosby as “day to day” for the first time this season.

Notes:

• Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith is expected to make his second start of the season. During a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 14, DeSmith made 34 saves on 39 shots.

• In addition to Crosby and DeSmith, those who participated in the optional morning skate included forwards Kasper Bjorkqvist, Brian Boyle, Sam Lafferty, Drew O’Connor and Dominik Simon; defensemen Mark Friedman, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola and Chad Ruhwedel; and goaltender Tristan Jarry.

• Forward Jeff Carter and Kris Letang continue to be in isolation after being placed on the NHL’s list for covid-19 protocol.

Sullivan suggested Carter, who is asymptomatic, is eligible to be removed from isolation on Friday.

Letang remains symptomatic.

• Before Thursday’s game, the Penguins were one of the NHL’s least penalized teams. Through their first six games, the Penguins have averaged an even eight minutes of penalties per contest.

“We’re trying to play the game hard,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to be a team that’s hard to play against, physically and otherwise. But certainly, we don’t want to give our opponents (power-play opportunities). Too many opportunities can be the difference in a game. We do have those conversations internally with our players. But sometimes, when you play the game hard, penalties can be a byproduct of it. Our conversation around the group is just trying to stay on the right side of the line, trying to have responsibility with our sticks. Let’s just make sure we don’t take unnecessary ones that put us in tough spots. The credit belongs to the players and their discipline and their attention to detail so they don’t put themselves in tough positions where they have to defend when they’re tired or things of that nature. There’s a lot of things that go into it.

“One of the big things for me is making sure, as a team, we change smart. And when we change smart, we don’t put ourselves in positions where we have to defend when we’re tried. That’s when penalties … you’re vulnerable to a reach or a hold or a hook because you don’t have the (energy) to be able to skate, close or take a certain angle. There’s a lot of details that go into it but I think the players deserve a lot of credit for their discipline.”

• The Flames are expected to start goaltender Jacob Markstrom. In four games this season, he has a 2-1-1 record, a 1.99 goals against average, a .934 save percentage and one shutout.

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