(UPDATED) Penguins Practice: Pettersson Joins Team for Workout

CRANBERRY — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who is recovering from an unspecified lower-body injury, joined his teammates for a practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex today.

He was wearing a white (no-contact) jersey.

Earlier, Pettersson had a 30-minute workout on the ice that was supervised by assistant coach Ty Hennes.

Pettersson appeared to be skating and going through drills with no difficulty during his time with Hennes, and coach Mike Sullivan said the decision to have him practice with the team was made after that session.

The Penguins have yet to announce when Pettersson is expected to rejoin the lineup, and Sullivan said there is “no change in status, but obviously progress” for him to take part in practice.

“It’s really encouraging,” said Sullivan, who described it as “a real important step” in the rehabilitation process.

Pettersson was scheduled to accompany the Penguins on their flight to New York for a game on Long Island Saturday evening.

Personnel combinations

Sullivan deployed these lines and defense pairings during the workout:

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Drew O’Connor
Anthony Beauvillier-Cody Glass-Phil Tomasino
Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

P.O Joseph-Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Ryan Shea

Spares: Marcus Pettersson, Kevin Hayes, Nathan Clurman, Jesse Puljujarvi

Pickering Absent

Defenseman Owen Pickering, who is recovering from a concussion, was the only player who did not participate in practice Friday.

He was injured in New Jersey last Saturday and did not dress for the Penguins’ 7-3 victory over Philadelphia Monday.

Sullivan said Pickering remains in the concussion protocol.