Sidney Crosby skated on his own before the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced Wednesday but Toronto Maple Leafs iron on letter number did not take part in the team workout.

The center was on the ice about 30 minutes before practice was scheduled. It was his first time skating since leaving a scrimmage Saturday for undisclosed reasons. He missed practice Sunday and a scrimmage Monday. Pittsburgh was off Tuesday.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Crosby skated by himself before practice but declined to comment. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Evan Rodrigues replaced Crosby on a line with left wing Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary for a third straight session Wednesday.

Forward Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Juuso Riikola practiced with the main group for the first time in training camp. Hornqvist and Riikola skated on the second rink Mon when the Penguins had a scrimmage.

Hornqvist skated at third-line right wing with center Jared McCann and remaining wing Patrick Marleau; Riikola was on a fourth defense pair with Chad Ruhwedel. Hornqvist was the net-front presence on the top power play with forwards Evgeni Malkin, Guentzel and McCann, and defenseman Kris Letang.

"It felt great to be back," Hornqvist said. "It's always fun to see the boys. I think we have a great opportunity in front of us. It's going to be a [heck] of a ride. We have to make sure we go out there personalized t shirt heat transfers and earn it."

Nine players were cleared to participate Monday after being held out of custom logo decals the first week of teaching camp because of possible secondary exposure with an individual who had contact with someone that tested positive for COVID-19.

Crosby scored 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) in 41 games prior to the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He was injured Nov. 9, experienced core muscle surgery Nov. 14 and skipped 28 games before returning to score four factors (one goal, three assists) in a 7-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 14.

The Penguins (40-23-6, .623 points percentage) enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the No. 12 seed, the Montreal Canadiens (31-31-9, .500). The best-of-5 series will begin at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, on Aug. 1.

The winner will advance to the Stanley Glass Playoffs, and the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, to be held Aug. 10.

When Pittsburgh opened schooling camp July 13, Crosby said he wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time.