Penguins reluctant to make any recalls while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton deals with covid-19 issues

Even with forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust sidelined indefinitely because of injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins still are expected to have a full lineup of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders at their disposal for Friday’s road game against the rival Washington Capitals.

They just aren’t likely to have a full complement of reinforcements.

Despite the absence of a handful of forwards on their NHL roster, the Penguins are not expected to make any recalls from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the time being after several of those players and staffers tested positive for covid-19 over the past week.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had their four most recent games postponed because of the virus and are not scheduled to play until Saturday when they host the rival Hershey Bears. Their most recent game was a 5-1 home loss to the Providence Bruins on Nov. 27.

On Wednesday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan suggested the team was “reluctant” to make any recalls because of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s situation.

On Thursday, general manager Ron Hextall expanded on the AHL club’s predicament.

“They’ve had an outbreak,” Hextall said in a phone interview with the Tribune-Review. “Obviously, they’ve canceled games and practices to some degree. We’re certainly monitoring the situation on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, we get on the backend of this.”

Hextall declined to identify any individual who tested positive or offer a figure. It is believed fewer than 10 players and staff have tested positive.

Given the Pittsburgh Penguins recently had eight players and Sullivan placed in the NHL’s protocol for the virus within the first two months of the season, management is hesitant to potentially reintroduce covid-19 into their midst.

“If we have to recall someone, what do we do?” Hextall said. “(Sullivan) and I talked about it this morning. Do we bring someone in and put them in a hotel for a few days? It’s a tough one right now, to be frank with you. I don’t have an exact answer. To be right up front, if we don’t have to call someone up, we’d certainly prefer that. If we do, we’ll use every precaution and make the best decision possible at the immediate time. It’s not an easy one. We don’t want to bring anything into our room, obviously. We want to be safe. We want to keep our players and our staff safe. It’s a tough one.”

Hextall estimated players and staffers with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton began testing positive for the virus 10 days ago. Since then, all members of that club have been tested every day. The Pittsburgh Penguins recently have resumed testing every third day, as outlined by NHL rules. After a handful of players on the NHL roster tested positive during training camp in September and October, the Pittsburgh Penguins ramped it up to every day.

On Wednesday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins resumed practicing, albeit in limited groups.

“My understanding is they practice in small groups,” Hextall said. “It was like nine guys and two groups. That was per the (AHL).”

NHL rosters are limited to 23 players in-season before the trade deadline, which is scheduled for March 21. The Penguins have 23 players on their active roster — not including Rust, who is designated to injured reserve because of an undisclosed injury. Forward Evgeni Malkin has been on long-term injured reserve since the season opened as he recovers from offseason surgery to his right knee.

Guentzel, who is expected to miss a couple weeks because of an undisclosed injury, remains a part of the active roster.

Forward Jason Zucker has missed the past two days of practice for what Sullivan has termed as “maintenance.” Sullivan did not offer a status for Zucker as it pertains to Friday’s game but indicated he would travel to Washington.

Notes:

• The team’s lines and pairs during Thursday’s practice in Cranberry were:

9 Evan Rodrigues - 87 Sidney Crosby - 42 Kasperi Kapanen

10 Drew O’Connor - 77 Jeff Carter - 43 Danton Heinen

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

49 Dominik Simon - 11 Brian Boyle - 18 Sam Lafferty

8 Brian Dumoulin - 58 Kris Letang

28 Marcus Pettersson - 6 John Marino

5 Mike Matheson - 2 Chad Ruhwedel

• The top power-play group included Carter, Crosby, Letang, Rodrigues and Simon. The second power-play group involved Heinen, Kapanen, Marino, Matheson and O’Connor.

• The broadcast of Friday’s game will be limited to streaming services ESPN Plus or Hulu. No traditional or regional broadcasters will carry the game. Subscriptions to ESPN Plus cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

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