Sidney Crosby out vs. Flyers after going on COVID list; Travis Konecny returns to Philly lineup
Crosby, a Flyers killer in his career (107 points in 72 games), might miss all three games against Philadelphia this week, though it is not known if he has contracted the coronavirus.
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Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list Tuesday and won’t play tonight against the visiting Flyers.
He might miss all three games against the Flyers this week, though it is not known if he has contracted the coronavirus.
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Crosby has 18 points in 20 games this season, and he has been a Flyers killer in his career, collecting 107 points, including 45 goals, in 72 games against Philadelphia.
The Penguins did not have a morning skate Tuesday because of the COVID protocol.
For the Flyers, right winger Travis Konecny will return to the lineup Tuesday and will be on the fourth line, alongside Connor Bunnaman and Michael Raffl. Surprisingly, Nic Aube-Kubel will come out of the lineup.
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Konecny has missed the last five games while on the league’s COVID protocol list. He came off the list Sunday and skated in Voorhees on Sunday and Monday (with Danny Briere) before taking a flight and joining the team in Pittsburgh.
“He wants to play,” coach Alain Vigneault said after the morning skate. “He’s the only player who was able to have a real, full practice. He says he feels good. ... Hopefully he plays well like all the other guys who came back from COVID.”
Vigneault said it was a difficult decision to take Aube-Kubel, one of the team’s most physical players, out of the lineup, “but TK is one of our top players and he’s given me the thumbs-up that he’s ready to go. I trust in all the players who have come back,” the veteran coach said. “They’ve all told me (when) they felt ready to play, so he’s going to play.”
Vigneault could have taken Bunnaman out of the lineup and moved Nolan Patrick down to the fourth-line center spot. But Bunnaman has also played well, and the coach wanted to keep Patrick as the second-line right winger.
The Flyers will play three straight regular-season games in the same city for the first time in franchise history, facing the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday as they finish a five-game road trip.
The Penguins will have some fans in PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday for the first time this season. Pittsburgh is permitted to have 2,800 in the building, and it will be its first home game with fans since March 8, 2020.
The Flyers are 2-0 against the Pens this year, sweeping an opening series at the Wells Fargo Center and outscoring Pittsburgh, 11-5.
Goalie Carter Hart (3.35 GAA, .899 save percentage), coming off a 3-0 win Sunday in Buffalo, will face Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry (3.14, .894) on Tuesday. Jarry had an awful start to the season, but he’s 5-2 with a .923 save percentage in his last seven starts.