Sidney Crosby and assistant coach Todd Reirden were removed from the NHL's COVID-19 protocol late this afternoon.
That means both should be available for the Penguins' game against Philadelphia tonight at 7:08 at PPG Paints Arena is uncertain.
Both missed the Penguins' 5-2 victory against the Flyers Tuesday after entering the protocol, presumably out of concern that they had been exposed to the coronavirus.
And while the Penguins won that game, Mike Sullivan is keenly aware of what the Penguins lose when Crosby isn't in the lineup.
"What we are missing when he's not missing is a lot of things," he said. "He's a game-breaker. Offensively, he's dynamic. I think he's hard to play against, by nature of his game. He commands the puck and possesses the puck an awful lot.
"He's hard on our opponents. They have to expend a lot of energy and people in order to defend him. He's responsible defensively. He's good in the faceoff circle. He's part of our power play.
"The list goes on, on the impact he has on our team. He's an important player for us. I'm probably stating the obvious. But he's not an easy guy to replace."
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• Tristan Jarry will make his ninth start in the past 10 games.
• Sullivan said injured center Mark Jankowski participated in the Penguins' optional game-day skate and will be a game-time decision. Two other injured players, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and forward Evan Rodrigues, took part in the skate but will not play tonight.
• Left winger Jake Guentzel's defensive game is better than some people recognize, Sullivan said. "He does a lot of things on the defensive side of the puck that probably go unnoticed because of what he does on the offensive side," Sullivan said. "He's a good player on both sides of the puck."
