Kris Letang is hurt again. The Penguins’ best defenseman will miss “a couple of weeks” with a lower-body injury, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.
Letang logged 26:23 of ice time in last night’s 4-3 OT victory over the Bruins. It’s not clear how he got injured, though he did take a hit from David Backes that could’ve caused the issue.
With no Letang, expect to see Justin Schultz’s role increase over the next two weeks. It may also be an opportunity for young Derrick Pouliot, who’s currently in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Steve Oleksy was a healthy scratch versus Boston, so the Penguins do have six healthy defensemen, even without Letang.
The Pens have five games before the Christmas break, starting Friday when they host Los Angeles.
Letang missed five games in October with an upper-body injury. Pittsburgh went 4-1-0 without him.
Related: Pouliot’s goal is to become ‘full-time player’ for Penguins