Penguins defenseman Kris Letang clears COVID-19 protocol, could play Thursday vs. Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the middle of a three-game losing streak that has seen them fall to 3-3-2 on the season but delivered some good news Monday ahead of Thursday's matchup against the 4-2-1 Philadelphia Flyers. 

According to Wes Crosby of the NHL's website, Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang has cleared the league's COVID-19 protocol and skated on his own Monday. He could practice Wednesday and ultimately take the ice Thursday against Philadelphia after missing four games due to entering the protocol back on Oct. 23.

"The symptomatic guys, everybody's a little bit different, so it's hard to anticipate how long it's going to take to get him back in the lineup," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan commented. "Hopefully, we can get [Letang] on the ice tomorrow and then he can join the team on Wednesday. We'll see where he is at that point." 

Letang is scheduled to skate on his own once again Tuesday. 

Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby made his season debut in this past Saturday's 4-2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils after he missed time due to having wrist surgery on Sept. 8. Star goal-scorer Evgeni Malkin is still expected to be out until at least December after he had knee surgery in June.