CHICAGO -- The Penguins finally got some good news when it comes to the roster's COVID situation.
Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel were both cleared from COVID protocol and were back on the ice, skating on their own in Cranberry while the rest of the team is in Chicago.
Both Pettersson and Ruhwedel went through what Todd Reirden called "the final stage" of protocol this morning, which included cardiac screening.
Pettersson and Ruhwedel both previously tested positive on Nov. 2 and had developed symptoms. There is no expected timeline yet for their return.
Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin and Mike Sullivan remain in COVID protocol.
As the Penguins' blue line starts to get healthy, it'll create some healthy competition among the more depth defensemen for the available spots.
One of the defensemen who will be looking to cement his place as an NHL regular is Mark Friedman, who has appeared in eight of the Penguins' 10 games so far this season, having been scratched twice in October in favor of Ruhwedel.
Friedman has recorded two assists, nine blocked shots, and 12 hits in his eight games, and has just seemed skilled at irritating his opponents (and not just the ones from Philadelphia).
"Mark's done a really good job for us in a number of different ways," Reirden said. "Certainly the edge that he brings is one of the the key components to what his identity is as a player, I think as he continues to get involved more with our penalty killing, taking on a bigger role of that, and then also stabilizing that third pair, I think that he's done a good job given the opportunity. He needs to continue as we get closer here to having our players return and hopefully get back to being healthy. His job is to make lineup decisions as tough as possible for the coaches. And I think if you're looking at his body of work from this year, he's done a good job of that."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• The usual suspects participated in the optional morning skate: Tristan Jarry, Casey DeSmith, Brian Boyle, Drew O'Connor, Sam Lafferty, Danton Heinen, Dominik Simon, Teddy Blueger, Mike Matheson, Friedman, P.O Joseph, Taylor Fedun
• The Penguins will start Tristan Jarry, the Blackhawks will start Marc-Andre Fleury.
• Reirden said that he was unaware of any pranks Fleury may have pulled on his former teammates yet after the skate. For the record, I saw Fleury outside the Penguins' locker room chatting (conspiring?) with trainer Chris Stewart and equipment manager Jon Taglianetti after the skate, after most of the Penguins' players had already gotten on the bus. So I wouldn't rule out any pranks -- and neither would Reirden.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he was involved (in any pranks)," Reirden said of Fleury. "Obviously, I've known Marc for many years, going back to my first tenure here in Pittsburgh. I hope for nothing but the best for him as a player and as a person and outstanding family ... But let's just hope it's not tonight."
• Since the Penguins last played the Blackhawks on Oct. 16, the Blackhawks fired Jeremy Colliton as head coach and named Derek King interim head coach on Saturday. The Blackhawks won 2-1 in overtime against the Predators on Sunday in King's debut as head coach. The Penguins are preparing for a new-look, more energized Blackhawks team this time around as a result.
"It was absolutely something certainly our team discussed in our pre-scout meetings this morning," Reirden said. "A new coach always adds a little jolt to your team. It's something that just watching them play the other day against Nashville, they seemed really stingy defensively in terms of how they played, didn't give up much. The commitment from their team seemed at a different level. We've made it aware to our team for sure to expect a different opponent than we saw in our building, and be ready for them to be able to start right from the drop of the puck."
• Nobody celebrates harder in these optional skate drills than Boyle. He scored one goal today and yelled and skated around like it was a playoff goal. Matheson nearly tackled him when he jumped in to join the celebration.
• Boyle has said before that the "20-something" music played in the locker room is "hit or miss," in his opinion. Today the Penguins were blasting Usher's song "Yeah" outside the locker room, a song that came out when Boyle was 20 years old himself.
