Post-Practice Notes
— Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik participated fully in today’s practice and he’s been cleared by doctors.
Orpik will travel with the team to Philadelphia but an actual timetable for his return to the lineup has yet to be established.
With this type of injury, Orpik has been skating for weeks and staying in game shape. It won’t take him long to get his timing back.
Orpik’s expected to get a few more practices under his belt before returning to game action. We should see him back in the lineup by next Tuesday vs the Flyers.
With Orpik’s eventual return, Ben Lovejoy or Deryk Engelland will be knocked out of the lineup.
— Penguins winger Matt Cooke did not practice today nor was he available to the media. Cooke is eligible to practice with the team but with a logjam developing at the forward position, there’s not much reason to have him out there with the team right now, taking up space.
— Head coach Dan Bylsma said during his media session that Sidney Crosby continues to skate and workout, as he did today. Bylsma reiterated that there is no “timetable” for Crosby.
The best news for the Penguins and Crosby is that there’s been no setbacks to this point.