Pens Points: Hello, Dallas

Here are your Pens Points for this Tuesday morning...

Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were spotted on the ice yesterday ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ scheduled practice time. While both players are still rehabbing their respective injuries, this is a positive sign in that process nonetheless. [PensBurgh]

On the flip side, however, Bryan Rust has been given the ‘week-to-week’ injury designation by head coach Mike Sullivan. Rust suffered the injury in the team’s recent game against the Florida Panthers. [PensBurgh]

Following a lengthy battle and rehab from his covid-19 diagnosis, Zach Aston-Reese is ready to hit the ice and help his team win. [Post-Gazette]

The Penguins’ fan-favorite mascot, Iceburgh, is up for a fan vote to be inducted into the 2022 class of the Mascot Hall of Fame. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Puerto Rico has won the gold medal in its first-ever women’s hockey tournament. [SI/The Hockey News]

Former NHLer, Ilya Kovalchuk, has been named as the general manager of the Russian Olympic team. [The Athletic $$]

Tampa Bay Lightning star forward, Nikita Kucherov, could be set to miss an extended period of time due to a lower-body injury that he suffered in a game last week. While no official diagnosis has been made as of this writing, people are already queuing up the LTIR jokes. [Raw Charge]

San Jose Sharks forward, Evander Kane, has been suspended for 21 games by the NHL for an ‘established violation’ of the league’s COVID-19 protocol. [ESPN]