Illness affecting Pittsburgh's top stars

The Pittsburgh Penguins are already going to be without the services of defenseman Kris Letang for an undetermined period of time after he suffered a stroke last Monday. For Letang, it was the second stroke that he's experienced; though the good news is that it isn't believed to be career (or much more importantly, life) threatening. In the meantime, he's been around the rest of his teammates and even skated at PPG Paints Arena earlier today. 

Unfortunately, the negative news from Penguins practice today was that their top two players in captain Sidney Crosby and fellow franchise icon Evgeni Malkin were absent due to an undisclosed illness. Additionally, goaltender Casey DeSmith was affected with the same ailment. Additionally, forward Ryan Poehling is dealing with an upper body injury.

“Sid, Geno, and Casey were all sick. That’s why they didn’t practice today,” Coach Mike Sullivan said. “Ryan Poehling skated with (assistant coach) Ty (Hennes). He’s dealing with an upper-body injury.

“Hopefully, they’ll feel better tomorrow. They weren’t feeling well today. We felt it best to keep them away from the rink and we’ll see how they feel in the morning.”

As of now, their status for tomorrow's home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets has yet to be determined. The opening face-off is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM EST.