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Letang and Michalek sidelined with concussions

Matt Cooke;  Kris Letang;

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kris Letang, left, is tended to by teammate Matt Cooke after being hit by Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press - Graham Hughes)

AP

The inevitable news facing Kris Letang was confirmed this morning by the Penguins. Letang is out with a concussion and was placed on injured reserve by the team. Joining him on the shelf with a concussion is Zbynek Michalek.

The bigger story here is with Letang as he was knocked to the ice with at least a broken nose by Montreal’s Max Pacioretty courtesy of a shoulder to the head. Pacioretty wound up receiving a three-game suspension because of the hit leading to outrage from Canadiens fans and Pacioretty himself. Now they might be thinking he got off easy.

Letang, of course, was allowed to return to the game after getting hit and wound up scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. Letang hasn’t played since that game and the concussion is the reason why.

We’re not about to go pointing fingers at the Penguins medical staff here, but perhaps putting the “quiet room” to better use might be considered next time a player has taken an obvious blow to the head. Now the Pens are without two of their top defensemen for an undetermined amount of time. The Pens are used to injury trouble by now but even this might be a bit much to handle.