This is getting ridiculous.
The Penguins lost another defensemen when Kris Letang was injured in the first period of Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over the Rangers.
Letang seemed to get injured during a battle for the puck in the corner, but it's not clear what happened. He appeared to be in pain after going into the corner:
Mike Sullivan said after the game that Letang is being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
Letang joins a growing list of injured Penguins defensemen.
Mike Matheson suffered an upper-body injury on Jan. 15 and is out "longer-term." He began skating with the team on Tuesday in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan said after the skate that his status hasn't changed. Juuso Riikola (longer-term) and Marcus Pettersson (week-to-week) both sustained upper-body injuries on Jan. 19. Brian Dumoulin is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 27. Zach Trotman, was likely going to be on the Penguins' taxi squad before undergoing right knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Jan. 14, receiving a 4-6 week recovery estimate.
Yannick Weber, signed to a one-year contract this week to provide some relief to the ailing blue line, played in his first game on Saturday. The Penguins' pairings at the start of the game were as follows:
P.O Joseph-Kris Letang
John Marino-Cody Ceci
Chad Ruhwedel-Yannick Weber
If Letang is unable to play next game, Kevin Czuczman figures to return to the lineup.