Letang will play tonight, but how much?

Kris Letang.Kris Letang will back in the Penguins' lineup tonight, and back in his customary spot on the No. 1 defense pairing.

That doesn't necessarily guarantee that he'll be carrying his usual workload, though.

Letang left the NHL's COVID-19 protocol Monday and had just one practice with his teammates after that, so there's not much evidence available of how his bout with the illness might have affected his stamina, which usually is exceptional and explains why he is averaging a team-high 26 minutes, eight seconds of ice time.

Assistant coach Todd Reirden said that Letang's return is "obviously, a huge boost for our team," butt that his playing time "is something that we'll need to monitor…