Sidney Crosby still in COVID-19 protocol as Penguins prepare to meet Flyers again

For the second straight day, the Penguins superstar was on the league's virus protocol list, and it was not known if he would face the Flyers on Thursday.

Flyers' goalie Carter Hart stops a shot from the Penguins' Sidney Crosby on Jan. 15. Crosby missed the Penguins' 5-2 win over the Flyers Tuesday.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

by Sam Carchidi

Published Mar. 3, 2021, 5:41 p.m. ET

Sidney Crosby was not a participant in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice Wednesday and remained on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list for the second straight day.

It was not known whether the superstar center would be able to face the Flyers on Thursday in Pittsburgh. The teams will finish the three-game series Saturday.

Being on the COVID-19 list doesn’t necessarily mean a player has contracted the coronavirus. Some players have come off the list in two days.

In his career, Crosby has 107 points, including 44 goals, in 72 games against the Flyers.

Oddly, the Penguins seem to play a better brand of team hockey when Crosby is out of the lineup. Last season, for instance, Pittsburgh went 18-6-4 for a league-best .714 points percentage when Crosby missed 28 games because of a core-muscle injury.

While Pittsburgh didn’t have Crosby on Tuesday, it did have fans at PPG Paints Arena for the first time in almost a year. Many of the Penguins credited the fans for spurring the team’s 5-2 win over the Flyers.

“Even though there were 2,800, it felt like there were 20,000,” said Pittsburgh’s Kasperi Kapanen after scoring two goals to trigger the victory. “It was a great boost from them. It sure felt things were kind of getting back to normal.”

A “sellout” crowd of 2,800 — the state allows 15% of the arena’s capacity — attended the game. The fans were in midseason form, even serenading Flyers goalie Carter Hart with singsong chants of Carrrrr-ter, Carrrr-ter, Carrrrr-ter” when the goalie was pulled for an extra attacker late in the game and then tried to race back to his net but couldn’t prevent Mike Matheson from scoring.

When the game ended, Penguins players saluted the fans by tapping their sticks on the ice and raising them to the rafters.

The Flyers will play their first home game with some fans in about a year Sunday when they face Washington at the Wells Fargo Center.

Breakaways

Pittsburgh is 8-1 at home this season, while the Flyers are 5-3-1 on the road. ... Despite the loss, the Flyers are 14-5-4 in regular-season games at PPG Paints Arena since it opened in 2010. ... Because of Crosby’s absence, Pittsburgh juggled all four lines Tuesday. ... The Flyers have scored first in five of their last six games, including the last four.