OTTAWA, Ontario -- The Penguins won't have Casey DeSmith when they face Ottawa tonight at 7:08 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
No Evgeni Malkin, either. Or Brian Dumoulin. Or Marcus Pettersson. Or Chad Ruhwedel.
But they know the situation could be worse.
All they have to do is look at the other bench.
When they report to work tonight, the Senators are expected to be missing no fewer than eight players because they are in the COVID-19 protocol.
And it's entirely possible that right winger Drake Batherson will join that list after recording a positive test Saturday morning, although a follow-up test was planned to confirm the result.