Letang Doesn't Miss a Beat in Return

Before Kris Letang was set to return to the lineup on Thursday versus Philadelphia after completing his COVID protocol, Todd Reirden said they would potentially need to keep an eye on his workload.

"He's obviously a phenomenal athlete and in tremendous shape, but that being said, this virus affects people differently," said Reirden, who assumed Mike Sullivan's duties behind the bench after the head coach tested positive for COVID.
"The fact that he was symptomatic is something we're going to monitor during the game, and see how he does."
Well, Letang did excellent. Despite missing four games while being away from the team for a 10-day span, the 34-year-old blueliner scored the overtime winner and logged 28:54 minutes in Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory over the Flyers on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
"Tanger does it all for us," winger Jake Guentzel said. "Doesn't look like he missed a beat. To see him get rewarded with that goal was pretty special. He's a leader and a guy we can count on in all situations."
And the Penguins truly needed Letang more than ever, as the team was missing three of their usual defensemen - Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel - after they all confirmed positive for COVID.
While Letang wasn't feeling like his usual self after his own experience with the virus, where he experienced the gamut of symptoms for the first 4-5 days and was so tired that he wasn't able to train and keep his conditioning up, he found a way to get the job done for his team tonight.
He was critical of his play after the game, saying that 10 days is a long time to be away, and that he has a lot of improving to do. But his teammates and coach felt Letang was being too hard on himself, as it's truly amazing that he was able to turn in a typical performance despite the circumstance. It's a testament to Letang's fitness level and his leadership.

"That was a really impressive effort by Kris," Reirden said. "Certainly we're a little bit shorthanded back there to begin with, and then he was going into the game at not quite 100%. So we were happy to have him in the lineup, and we were going to take it as it went in terms of minutes. And I thought he was outstanding, and then obviously, great to see him get rewarded there with a huge overtime winner for us."
The Penguins didn't have the option of counting on some of their top offensive players during overtime, as Sidney Crosby (COVID protocol), Evgeni Malkin (knee) and Bryan Rust (lower body) are all out as well.
But Letang took matters into his own hands, starting when he skated the puck out of his own zone and dished off a pass to Jeff Carter. He dropped it back to Letang, whose initial shot went off a skate. Letang recovered it, went around the net and backhanded a wraparound attempt past Flyers goalie Carter Hart.
The refs initially blew the whistle thinking the play was dead, but after a review, it was determined that the puck had completely crossed the goal line. Letang's seventh career overtime goal - his first of the season - ranks third (tied) among active defensemen. He trails only Brent Burns (15) and Seth Jones (9), and only five defensemen in NHL history have netted more overtime goals than Letang's seven.
"I knew it was close," Letang said. "I didn't know 100% if the puck crossed the goal line. In the scrum, I told the ref right away that you should check it. I think it was on the screen, too, so people started cheering."
And no one was more deserving of cheers tonight than No. 58, the No. 1 star of the game.