Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby joined the growing number of players in the National Hockey League to contract mumps, but team officials said they don't believe Crosby's teammates are at risk.

Crosby was tested Friday, and results came back positive for the virus Saturday night, team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas said during a news conference Sunday.

“It was a rapidly evolving process,” he said.

Crosby has been placed in isolation and will miss at least Monday night's against Tampa Bay, Vyas said, but he could return to play Thursday against Colorado.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends isolating patients for five days once they show symptoms.

Crosby is among 13 NHL players to test positive for mumps this season. The New York Rangers announced Sunday they believe forward Derick Brassard has mumps. That would be the 14th case.

“It's obvious we're concerned about it,” Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford said. “It's a disease that's going throughout the league, and you just don't know how far it can spread.”

Crosby received a mumps vaccination less than a year ago in preparation for the Winter Olympics, and he was up to date on his immunizations, Vyas said. He was unsure how Crosby contracted the infection.

All Penguins players were tested two weeks ago — a precautionary measure the team took because of the rash of diagnoses around the league — and those who scored as being more susceptible to contracting the disease were immunized, Vyas said.

“We're trying to stay ahead of it,” he said.

Crosby injured a salivary gland in his neck during a game against Carolina on Nov. 29. Two days later, as part of his treatment, he was tested for mumps. The test came back negative, Vyas said.

Crosby reported not feeling well Thursday and missed practice. He participated in Friday's morning skate despite arriving with one side of his face swollen, and he sat out that night's game as a precaution while the team awaited the results of another round of testing.

“He didn't have the classic presentation of mumps,” Vyas said. “It's (usually) bilateral, on both sides of the face.”

Team officials believed the swelling was connected to the salivary gland injury, Rutherford said, so Crosby was allowed to skate Friday.

“We can only go from the recommendations from the medical people,” Rutherford said.

When Crosby's swelling worsened that afternoon, Vyas said he suspected there was more to Crosby's condition.

Besides testing, the Penguins have taken other precautions to guard against mumps, Vyas said.

“We've been actually sterilizing our room since the mumps outbreak started in the NHL,” he said. “We frequently clean out the rooms, and did again (Saturday). We'll do that on a regular basis. Then just generally viral transmission precautions, washing hands, not sharing water bottles as much as we can for a professional hockey team.”

Players from five teams — the Penguins, Rangers, Minnesota, New Jersey and Anaheim — have been diagnosed with mumps. The Penguins have played the other four teams this season.

Josh Yohe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jyohe@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JoshYohe_Trib.

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