Penguins forwards Mark Jankowski, Brandon Tanev rejoin team

Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Mark Jankowski and Brandon Tanev have been formally removed from the NHL’s list of players unavailable due to covid-19 protocol.

They were initially placed on that list on Saturday.

Jankowski resumed practicing Sunday in Cranberry while Tanev skated prior to practice with forward Teddy Blueger as well as with skating and skill development coach Ty Hennes. Blueger and Tanev are currently on injured reserve because of undisclosed injuries.

By rule, teams and the league do not offer specific reasons as to why a player has been placed on the list.

Being placed on the list does not necessarily indicate a player has tested positive for covid-19. Something as seemingly mundane as a potential secondary exposure can merit placement on the list.

The Penguins have had six players placed on the list this season. In addition to Jankowski and Tanev, forwards Sidney Crosby, Kasperi Kapanen and Colton Sceviour and defenseman John Marino have been on the list.

In 31 games this season, Jankowski has five points (two goals, three assists).

Sidelined since March 18 because of an undisclosed injury, Tanev has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 30 games this season.

Notes:

• Forward Jason Zucker was a full participant in practice. He has been sidelined since Feb. 23 because of a suspected left leg injury. Sullivan stopped short of offering a status for Zucker in regards to Monday’s home game against the Islanders.

In 17 games this season, Zucker has seven points (four goals, three assists). He is on long-term injured reserve.

• Defenseman Mark Friedman skated with the taxi squad. Sidelined since suffering a suspected head injury March 4, Friedman is currently on injured reserve. In two games with the Penguins, he has two points (one goal, one assist).

The Penguins’ primary lines and pairings in practice were:

59 Jake Guentzel - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust

16 Jason Zucker - 19 Jared McCann - 9 Evan Rodrigues

12 Zach Aston-Reese - 11 Frederick Gaudreau - 18 Sam Lafferty

7 Colton Sceviour - 14 Mark Jankowski - 57 Anthony Angello/67 Radim Zohorna

8 Brian Dumoulin - 58 Kris Letang

5 Mike Matheson - 4 Cody Ceci

28 Marcus Pettersson - 6 John Marino

50 Juuso Riikola - 2 Chad Ruhwedel

The top power-play unit included Crosby, Guentzel, Letang, McCann and Rust.

The second power-play squad involved Angello, Marino, Matheson, Rodrigues and Zucker.

• Like a lot of people with ties to college hockey, Sullivan, a product of Boston University, was up late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning as the men’s teams of Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota battled into five overtimes during the championship game of the NCAA’s Midwest Regional in Fargo, N.D.

Minnesota-Duluth’s 3-2 win, at a tidy 142 minutes and 13 seconds, was the longest game in NCAA tournament history.

But Sullivan wasn’t watching that contest as it concluded at approximately 1:44 a.m. on the East Coast.

He was re-watching his game from Saturday night, a 6-3 home win against the New York Islanders that was thankfully determined within the confines of regulation. Sullivan does that on a regular basis to prepare for future practices and meetings.

That said, he did admit he does watch the sport at various levels a fair amount when his schedule allows for it.

“I do enjoy watching hockey when it doesn’t relate to the Penguins,” Sullivan said. “It’s a more casual approach, I guess. But I think as coaches, no matter what hockey games we watch, we’re always watching it with some sort of an analytical eye, trying to figure out what teams are doing and seeing what we can learn and what might be the next evolution of the game, whether it comes from the pro game or college hockey or wherever. I just think that’s how coaches are wired, at least that’s been my experience of being around a number of coaches over the years.

“I don’t think we ever watch it too casually. But sometimes it is nice to be able to watch a game when you’re not completely invested when it’s your team.”