Penguins keenly aware of the standings, Sidney Crosby says

It's standard NHL protocol – and across all professional sports, really – that players would rather undergo a root canal than admit they look at the standings.

And while players across the Penguins locker room Tuesday mostly stuck to platitudes such as "We just look at the next game," and "We just want to play our game," the team's captain veered from the script a bit.

With 15 games left in a season that ends one month from Tuesday and the Penguins within a point of both first and third place in the Metropolitan Division, Sidney Crosby acknowledged that he's doing some standings-watching.

"Yeah, it's just changing so much," Crosby said. "One point separates three or four teams and our division is so close, I think we check pretty often at this point."

NHL Metro Division Notebook: Top Spot Is Too Close to Call https://t.co/AOPVPW0MS7 via @MurphsHockeyLaw

" Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 5, 2018

The Penguins (80 points) trail the Washington Capitals – who have two games in hand – by one point for the division lead. Wednesday's opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, are in third place with 79 points and have one game in hand on the Penguins.

Notes: Sullivan confirmed that Matt Murray skated on his own prior to practice. The No. 1 goalie has not played or practiced with the team since suffering a concussion during practice Feb. 26. … Mario Lemieux's fantasy camp followed Penguins' practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township. Among the myriad of former NHL stars on hand were Bryan Trottier, Chris Chelios, Tie Domi and Grant Fuhr.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.