Coach Mike Sullivan may have had to reacquaint himself with some of the faces on the ice at yesterday’s Penguins practice in Cranberry. The optional skate featured a group of injured players, most of them in full contact jerseys, and one notable player who’d been on a leave of absence. That was Kris Letang, newly returned from Montreal, where he’d been tending to family matters since his father’s death on January 2nd, while at the same time mending from an undisclosed injury.
Letang did not speak to reporters but Sullivan did, saying the star defenseman skated for about a half-hour with assistant coach Ty Hennes and about twenty minutes with his teammates in practice. Sullivan was thrilled to have “Tanger” back.
The coach said Letang will not accompany the team to Ottawa for tonight’s game against the Senators. On Monday, the Penguins placed Letang on injured reserve retroactive to December 28th.
Sullivan said the other returning Penguins will travel with the team to Ottawa tonight, although he stopped short of saying any of them would play. Goaltender Tristan Jarry, defenseman Jeff Petry, and forward Ryan Poehling all wore regular practice jerseys and were full practice participants. Forward Josh Archibald joined Letang in white non-contact jerseys.
The coach was happy to see his wayward players on the ice.
Jarry was injured in the Winter Classic in Boston on January 2nd. He said it’s important to him to be fully ready to go when he finally suits up for a game, so workouts like yesterday’s are important.
Jeff Petry is on long term injured reserve with an upper body injury but is eligible to return when ready. He says learning to trust in the healing process is a big hurdle.
Of the returning players, only Letang and Archibald wore non-contact jerseys.
The Penguins will play the Senators in Ottawa tonight and then return to Pittsburgh to play them on Friday. With IUP playing a basketball doubleheader on U92, the Penguins game will air on WCCS tonight, with the pregame on the air at 6 o’clock.
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