The Penguins recent run of good injury luck appears to have finally come to a halt.
Defenseman Kris Letang will miss "a couple of weeks" with a lower-body injury, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan announced Thursday.
The Penguins called up Derrick Pouliot from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take Letang's spot on the active roster.
It's unclear when, exactly, the injury occurred. Letang finished the Penguins' 4-3 overtime win against the Bruins on Wednesday night, even playing the first 26 seconds of the three-on-three overtime period.
He did not practice during with the rest of his teammates at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.
Letang leads the Penguins in time on ice, averaging 26:04 per game. That includes significant work both on the power play and penalty kill.
"It won't be (easy), but it'll be by committee," Sullivan said. "We think we have capable people and we'll sort it out. Certainly he's a tough guy to replace."
Defenseman Justin Schultz, riding an offensive hot streak, figures to be the lead candidate to replace Letang on the Penguins' top power-play unit. As for who takes his spot in the lineup, it's still unclear.
Pouliot would seem to be the front-runner for the spot, but Sullivan declined to commit to that plan after Thursday's practice, which was before Pouliot joined the team.
Steve Oleksy took Letang's spot on the blue line during Thursday's practice, working with Brian Dumoulin.
This will be Letang's second extended stretch missed due to injury this season. The Penguins went 4-1 in the five games he missed in October earlier this year.
"We'll see how it goes," Sullivan said. "We've got some ideas that we think we'll try and we'll see how it goes."
