CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- We do not know the nature of Kris Letang's lower body injury, but we now know something about the extent.
Letang was placed on injured reserve Thursday evening, retroactive to Dec. 24, meaning he will at least miss Friday night's game at Carolina and Sunday's game in Detroit.
Joining Letang on IR are Bryan Rust and Chad Ruhwedel, who went down in Wednesday night's shootout win over Columbus with upper body injuries. Rust and Ruhwedel are both expected to miss significant time.
Goaltender Casey DeSmith, defenseman Andrey Pedan and forward Garrett Wilson were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. DeSmith, who has appeared in two games this season, making 20 saves on 24 shots, will serve as Tristan Jarry's backup Friday night against the Hurricanes. DeSmith is 10-5-2 with a .911 save percentage in the AHL this season. Jarry is being pressed into action after Matt Murray suffered an upper body injury. Murray is listed as day-to-day.
Pedan, 24, is one of the top defense prospects in the organization. He was acquired in the October trade that sent Derrick Pouliot to Vancouver. The left-handed shooting Pedan appeared in 13 games with the Canucks and has 10 points in 26 games for Wilkes-Barre this season. Taylor Haase wrote a full report on Pedan earlier this season.
Wilson, 26, has 14 points (six goals) to go along with a team-high 54 penalty minutes in 25 games for Wilkes-Barre and has played in 40 career NHL games, including six playoff games, with the Panthers.