CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins made it through the last two seasons without a single in-season positive COVID case.
Four games into this season, they haven't been quite so lucky.
Jeff Carter and Tristan Jarry were both absent from the Penguins' practice at the Lemieux Complex on Thursday afternoon. Mike Sullivan announced afterward that Carter tested positive for COVID-19 and is in COVID protocol, and that Jarry was also in COVID protocol.
Sullivan said that both Carter and Jarry are asymptomatic to this point.
They become the third and fourth players to enter COVID protocol for the Penguins this season, after Zach Aston-Reese and Jake Guentzel tested positive during training camp.
"It seems like this year we're not catching the breaks," Evan Rodrigues said of the Penguins' predicament.
While players are subject to league and team protocols at the rink, they aren't in a real "bubble" this year, and are free to live their lives away from the rink. Many of the players -- including Carter and Jarry -- went to Sunday's Steelers game together, for instance.
Mike Sullivan said that the goal is to find a "sweet spot," where players can remain safe but still have a life outside of the rink. The challenge is determining what that "sweet spot" is.
"That is the question, and I don't know that I have a valid answer," Sullivan said. "It's certainly something that we're throwing around internally, and we're talking to our players about doing our very best to try to limit our exposure as best we can. Just use common sense."
Rodrigues said that the players are trying to be "as diligent as possible," but that in some circumstances this might just be unavoidable.
"You try to keep yourself safe, but sometimes it's a freak pass by when you're leaving the rink," he said. "You don't really know, right? It could be when you're getting gas. You don't really know where we're getting it. We've obviously had a few cases, and it's not being nice to us right now."
Asymptomatic players in COVID protocol can be removed from the protocol following two negative tests. If Carter and Jarry remain asymptomatic, then they aren't subject to the 10-day minimum isolation period that symptomatic players are subject to.
If Jarry isn't out of protocol by Saturday evening's game against the Maple Leafs, Louis Domingue figures to earn a call up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Domingue missed Wilkes-Barre's first two games of the season over the weekend with a lower-body injury, but has been a full participant in practice there this week.
With Carter sidelined, Rodrigues appears to be set to play first-line center, with Drew O'Connor shifting to third-line center, based on Thursday's line combinations:
Jake Guentzel - Evan Rodrigues - Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese - Teddy Blueger - Brock McGinn
Jason Zucker - Drew O'Connor - Danton Heinen
Sam Lafferty - Brian Boyle - Dominik Simon
With Rodrigues seeing an elevated role, he said that it would be a "mistake" to try to change his game as a result of playing on the top line.
"That's the mistake that a lot of young guys make," Rodrigues said. "They get bumped up the lineup and they try to either create more offense or play a different game. The reason why you have success and get to where you are is by playing your game. ... You just play your game, you do your thing, and the game will take care of itself."
Rodrigues has been playing in a top-six role since the start of the season, centering the Penguins' second line. He saw top-line minutes at times last season, playing on Sidney Crosby's wing. Sullivan expressed confidence in Rodrigues stepping into this top-line center role, saying that he's "used to it" by now.
"E-Rod's a good player," Sullivan said. "He's got good offensive instincts. He's a very capable guy. You know, we're going to need him now."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Mark Friedman returned to practice after missing the last several days with a lower-body injury.
• The defense pairings remained the same, with Friedman rotating in on the third pairing:
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mike Matheson - Chad Ruhwedel/Mark Friedman
• With Jarry absent from practice, Penguins emergency backup goaltender/Lemieux Complex goaltending coach Mike Chiasson practiced with the team for the second day in a row.
• Goaltending coach Andy Chiodo had to wear a face mask during practice, part of protocol after being in close contact with Jarry.
• Crosby didn't skate, Sullivan said that it was a scheduled day off for a second day in a row for him. Sullivan said that Crosby has been ruled out for at least Saturday's game.
• Sullivan said that Evgeni Malkin is on a schedule now where he skates "a couple of days a week," but he wasn't sure if today was one of the scheduled days on the ice or not.
• The top power play unit was Kris Letang, Guentzel, Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Zucker, Rodrigues
• The second power play unit was John Marino, Mike Matheson, Danton Heinen, Dominik Simon, O'Connor
• Simon had a full mustache in practice today after losing the Mustache Boy shootout drill to end Wednesday's practice.
• Brian Boyle said that the "trendier, 20-something" music played by team DJ Brian Dumoulin in the locker room is "hit or miss," in his view.
"My dad had control of music when I was in the car going hockey and stuff," he said. "So I guess you could say I was cultured that way, listening to a lot of Billy Joel and Don McLean and some Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler. There's all different kinds of music I'm into, I don't pay too much attention to it. If it's set at a good decibel level and the guys are in there ready to play, I get excited either way, I'm just excited when I come to the rink. Some of the songs I don't care for too much, but (Dumoulin) does a good job of mixing it up so it doesn't go too long stretches with me being like, 'You gotta change this.'"
• Rodrigues is looking forward to playing against the Maple Leafs, his childhood team, this Saturday.
"Maybe a little bit of extra motivation to play well," he said. "But you try to treat it like any other game and go out there and play your best."
