

As noted Pens defenseman Kris Letang skated with his teammates for the first time since leaving the club’s morning skate Feb. 7. He missed the past three games with a lower-body injury, but was back with his teammates Tuesday afternoon for practice.

Kris Letang at team practice Tuesday

“Felt pretty good,” he said following nearly two hours of skating. “It was the first time I’ve practiced with the team so I had a chance to battle in the corner. I stayed later to do extra. It felt pretty good.”

“Kris Letang had a full day,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “We had some contact drills, we had some D-zone, so it was a pretty stressful day on a lower-body injury and he did pretty well.”

Even though Letang went through an intense couple hours of practice, Bylsma would not signal whether or not his defenseman would return to the lineup Wednesday against Ottawa.

Bylsma said Letang is day-to-day, but noted that he could be elevated to a game-time decision Wednesday morning.

“We’ll talk right now and tomorrow morning (with doctors) after morning skate,” Letang said.

Letang, who skated Monday, first suffered the injury Feb. 3 at Washington on Super Bowl Sunday. He finished the game and played the next contest before missing the previous three.

This is the first time Letang is dealing with an injury of this kind, but said it is easy to understand.

“It was easy to tell when I’m hurt or feeling better,” he said. “(Tuesday) I felt really good on the ice. Two days ago it didn’t feel really well. It was a question of getting better.”