The list of injured Penguins continues to be a long one, but the biggest name missing is once again captain Sidney Crosby.
Pittsburgh will be without its superstar indefinitely once more as it hosts the Detroit Red Wings.
The Penguins announced last week that Crosby would miss a pair of games as a precaution for an undisclosed injury, sitting out a loss at Philadelphia on Thursday and a victory over the Islanders two nights later.
However, Crosby said on Monday that he is out again due to concussion-like symptoms stemming from a collision with teammate Chris Kunitz on Dec. 5 versus the Bruins.
"Not (feeling) bad. I'm not happy about watching, but I have to make sure with these sort of things that I'm careful and making sure I'm 100 percent before coming back," Crosby said. "No timetable (for return)."
The 24-year-old former Hart Trophy winner did say he is feeling better than when he missed 10 months due to a concussion suffered last January. He finally returned to action on Nov. 21 and logged two goals and 10 assists in eight games.
Crosby wasn't the only Penguin out of action in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Islanders as Jordan Staal (lower body), Kris Letang (broken nose/concussion) and Zbynek Michalek (concussion) were all out. Pittsburgh also said on Monday that forward Richard Park will be out 4-to-6 weeks with a fractured foot.
James Neal stepped up on Saturday and scored two goals, giving him 17 on the season. That is tied for fourth most in the league.
Steve Sullivan added a goal and an assist and Pascal Dupuis, Matt Cooke and Paul Martin all netted goals as the Penguins avoided a third straight loss and sit a point back of the Flyers for first in the Atlantic Division.
"I thought tonight a lot of guys stepped up in leadership and how we play," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said.
Marc Andre-Fleury made 24 saves in the win, the 199th of his career. He gets a shot at No. 200 against the club he beat for his first NHL win back on Oct. 18, 2003.
Detroit is coming off a 7-1 rout of Winnipeg on Saturday, getting a pair of goals from Jiri Hudler, who has four tallies and two assists in his past three games. Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula and Drew Miller all finished with a goal and an assist each, while Chris Conner lit the lamp.
Jimmy Howard made 29 saves in Detroit's second straight victory and ninth in 11 games.
"We think we have a good hockey club. We think we are a team that's getting better and if you keep getting better you have a chance," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said.
Detroit, which trails Chicago by three points for first in the Central Division, will play two straight and six of its next seven on the road. The Red Wings, who won their ninth straight home game on Saturday, are 6-7-0 as the guest this year compared to 12-2-1 at home.
The Penguins won a pair of meetings with the Red Wings a season ago and have won four of the past six regular-season meetings. The two clubs also met in consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, with Detroit winning in six games in 2008 before Pittsburgh countered the following year by winning the championship in seven games.
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