The updates regarding the playing status of many of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ highest-profile players were coming fast and furious Monday. And the news was mixed.

Defenseman Kris Letang, it was confirmed, tested covid-19 positive. He enters NHL coronavirus protocol and will miss a second game when the Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Letang was added to the covid list Saturday but there had been hope that his test was a false positive. Monday, coach Mike Sullivan said it was confirmed to be a true positive.

Veteran forward Jeff Carter remains on the covid list after it was announced he tested positive last week.

Three of the Penguins’ top six forwards showed signs of progressing from injury absences Monday. Captain Sidney Crosby practiced with the team at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, taking line rushes with regulars Jason Zucker and Danton Heinen and getting some work on the power play (albeit the second unit).

Although it seems unlikely Crosby would make his season debut Tuesday, his return to game action from offseason wrist surgery is appearing increasingly imminent.

“Obviously, we want to get Sid in the lineup as quickly as we possibly can,” Sullivan said Monday. “He’s that much of a difference-maker for us. But we also want to make sure that we do it in a safe manner. That’s an important aspect of it, as well. So we’ll rely and trust on our medical team.

“The fact that Sid is starting to participate consistently in our team practices is real encouraging, and that suggests he’s a whole lot closer.”

DNP: Letang (covid), Carter (covid)

Limited* participants: Rust (lower-body), Malkin (knee)

*-defined as skating before the team workout pic.twitter.com/Ye8ZbXDF7v

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 25, 2021

Crosby’s right wing last season, Bryan Rust, skated before practice along with Evgeni Malkin. On injured reserve because of a lower-body ailment suffered during the second game of the season, Rust’s appearance on the ice Monday was the first spotted by media since.

“He’s just in the process of going through the rehab,” Sullivan said. “The fact that he’s on the ice is encouraging. He will continue to go through the process. His status hasn’t changed, (but) I think the biggest indicator (of) a status changes is when he starts to join the team practice — that’s when it turns from a week-to-week thing to, potentially, a day-to-day thing.

“He’s not there yet, so his status hasn’t changed. But the fact he’s on to skating and on the ice is real encouraging.”

Malkin has been skating for more than a week as he continues to ramp up to a return from offseason knee surgery. The most recent time the Penguins provided a timetable for Malkin’s return to game action, it was deemed December. But no team official has addressed a potential change to that status since Malkin started skating.

Note: The Penguins recalled forward Kasper Bjorkqvist from their AHL affiliate Monday. A former second-round pick of the club, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Bjorkqvist had one goal in four games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. A roster spot opened for Bjorkqvist when Letang and Carter officially went on the covid list.

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.

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