OTTAWA, Ontario -- Drew O'Connor won't be in the Penguins' lineup this season, but he has moved a step closer to getting back on active duty.
He was one of a dozen players to participate in an optional game-day skate Thursday, and he did so having been cleared for contact.
O'Connor will sit out his 11th consecutive game because of an unspecified upper-body injury (believed to be a collapsed lung) when the Penguins face the Senators tonight at 7:08 at Canadian Tire Centre, but being allowed to take contact is significant.
He had a strong showing at training camp and has carried that over into the regular season, part of which he has spent with the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre.