Pittsburgh’s Brian Dumoulin has tested positive for COVID-19, but remains asymptomatic. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins placed Biddeford native Brian Dumoulin and star center Sidney Crosby in the COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday after both tested positive.
Coach Mike Sullivan said Crosby is dealing with mild symptoms while Dumoulin remains asymptomatic. Crosby’s positive test came less than a week after he made his season debut, missing the opening six games while recovering from left wrist surgery.
Though the overwhelming majority of Penguins have been vaccinated, they’ve spent the early portion of the season wrangling with COVID-19. Crosby and Dumoulin are the seventh and eighth Penguins to go into the COVID-19 protocol since training camp opened in September.
Defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel went into the protocol on Monday. Forwards Jeff Carter, Jack Guentzel and Zach Aston-Reese and defenseman Kris Letang also have tested positive.
Carter, Guentzel and Aston-Reese have returned to action. Letang, who was symptomatic, was back at practice on Monday.
Crosby made his 2021-22 debut in a 4-2 loss to New Jersey last Saturday. The 34-year-old did not record a point as the Penguins dropped their third straight.
“I’m sure he’s discouraged,” Sullivan said. “He worked extremely hard to get to this point, and we were all so excited about getting him back in the fold. This puts another roadblock in front of it. But we’ll control what we can, and we’re hopeful that Sid will return soon.”
The Penguins (3-3-2) wrap up an eight-game homestand by facing cross-state rival Philadelphia on Thursday and Minnesota on Sunday.
BLACKHAWKS: The Hockey Hall of Fame has covered the name of an assistant coach engraved on the Stanley Cup after the assistant was accused of sexually assaulting a player during the Chicago Blackhawks’ run to the 2010 championship.
Brad Aldrich’s name was covered with X’s on Sunday, the same day that the names of the 2020-21 champion Tampa Bay Lightning were added to the Cup, according to the Toronto-based Hall.
Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald last week to ask for the removal of Aldrich’s name. In the letter, Wirtz said Aldrich’s conduct disqualifies him from being included on the Cup, and the team made a mistake by submitting his name.
“While nothing can undo what he did, leaving his name on the most prestigious trophy in sports seems profoundly wrong,” Wirtz wrote.
DEVILS: Defenseman P.K. Subban was fined $15,000 by the NHL for his second tripping offense in eight days.
The former Norris Trophy winner was fined for tripping Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras in the first period Tuesday night in a 4-0 win by the Ducks. No penalty was called on the play.
The league’s department of player safety previously fined Subban $5,000 for a “dangerous trip” on Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic in an Oct. 26 game. In that instance, the defenseman came at Lucic from behind and used his leg to trip him, an action referred to as slew footing an opponent.
Subban also was criticized but not fined for a tripping Ryan Reaves of the New York Rangers in a preseason game.
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