Evgeni Malkin won't be in the Penguins' lineup anytime soon.
The most recent projection from the team is that he won't return until at least December
Nonetheless, having him get on the ice Monday for the first time since having offseason knee surgery was a noteworthy step in his recovery.
Never mind that he was in a track suit, not full equipment, and that he mostly moved around on his own, at his own pace, although Malkin did participate in at least one drill with Sidney Crosby and Mike Matheson during their pre-practice workout.
"Anytime a player goes back on the ice, I think it's significant," Mike Sullivan said after practice. "It's his first step. He's been working extremely hard off the ice, going through the rehab process, but certainly, that's a significant step for him."
Zach Aston-Reese took one of those Saturday, when he returned after being sidelined by a bout of COVID-19, and Mike Matheson, who missed the first three games this season because of an unspecified lower-body injury, is expected to do likewise when the Penguins face the Stars Tuesday at 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
Although Aston-Reese's coronavirus infection was described as "mild," it clearly was an unpleasant experience.
"It kind of (stunk)," he said. "A lot. I felt really good in camp, then I found out I tested positive the first Sunday of camp. As soon as I found out, all the symptoms hit me. I kind of felt like I had the flu for five days.
"Unfortunately, I had some pretty bad symptoms. I wasn't able to work out for 12 days, until I got my heart looked at. We've seen some of the players around the league having some (COVID-related) heart issues. They just wanted to make sure I was OK. Which I was, thankfully.
"Getting back has been a process. It's something I'm still dealing with, a little bit. ... Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll be feeling like myself again."
Although Aston-Reese said he felt the impact of his illness during the game against the Blackhawks -- "After the first period, I started to feel a little sluggish" -- it wasn't evident in his performance, as he logged 16 minutes, 33 seconds of ice time and recorded a team-high six hits.
Aston-Reese figures to be in the lineup against Dallas, and indications are strong that Matheson will join him there.
"We'll see how he responds overnight," Sullivan said. "But he had a strong practice today."
Matheson was a full participant in the team workout, and reported "feeling good out there."
This is the second consecutive season in which Matheson suffered an early lost-time injury. In 2020-21, he was hurt during the Penguins' season-opening series in Philadelphia.
"It feels like I've been here before," Matheson said. "But the team has been playing great and that helps, for sure. To be able to see them doing well and now, hopefully, get back soon and be able to help out."
Matheson, who partnered with Cody Ceci for much of last season, was paired with John Marino for most of the preseason, but worked alongside Chad Ruhwedel Monday.
There is no guarantee that tandem will remain intact Tuesday, although Ruhwedel's style looks to be a nice complement to Matheson's.
"I think (Ruhwedel) is an easy partner to play with, because of his consistency and his steady game," Sullivan said. "After having missed a few games, to come back into the lineup, with the priority being (to bring) an element of simplicity to (Matheson's) game, there's no better guy to do it with than Chad."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Sullivan said that Crosby will not be in the lineup against Dallas.
• Right winger Bryan Rust is listed as "week to week, at this point" with an unspecified lower-body injury sustained at Florida last Thursday. He is on injured-reserve.
• Mark Friedman left practice briefly because of an unspecified lower-body injury that was being evaluated after practice, but Sullivan said that it does not appear to be serious.
• Matheson said that adjusting to a new partner isn't necessarily difficult. "Communication makes all the difference and allows you to get to know each other better, faster, and execute plays better when you're out there," he said. "Regardless of who I'm playing with, that's the biggest thing to focus on."
• Sullivan, on Aston-Reese's niche on the team: "We think Zach's a real good player. I thought he had a real solid playoff for us. He scored a bunch of goals for us last year. He was on a 15- to 20-goal pace in a (full) season schedule last year. If he can do that for us, with virtually zero power-play time, that's pretty good offensive production from a guy that we rely on defensively."
• Personnel combinations during the workout:
Jake Guentzel-Jeff Carter-Danton Heinen
Jason Zucker-Evan Rodrigues-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brock McGinn
Drew O'Connor-Brian Boyle-Dominik Simon
(Sam Lafferty)
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Chad Ruhwedel
(Mark Friedman)
No. 1 power play -- Kapanen, Letang, Carter, Guentzel and Rodrigues.
No. 2 power play -- Matheson, Marino, Zucker, Simon and Heinen/O'Connor.
