Pittsburgh will be without All-Star defenseman Kris Letang for the second straight contest when it faces New Jersey on Saturday.
Letang, 25, was injured during last Sunday’s win over Washington with an unspecified lower-body ailment. He proceeded to play over 25 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Isles, then sat out Thursday’s rematch with the Capitals.
It’s expected that Dylan Reese, who made his season debut on Thursday, will fill in again for Letang against the Devils and play alongside blueliner Simon Despres.
Losing Letang will hurt the Pens, as he’d gotten off to a tremendous start. The offensive defenseman scored nine points through his first 10 games and was averaging over 25 minutes a night.
Pittsburgh plays the Devils in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, and there’s no word if Letang will be ready to return to action for the second half of the series.