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Letang concussed, Penguins will dress five defensemen

Kris Letang, Steve Downie, Rob Scuderi

Kris Letang, Steve Downie, Rob Scuderi

AP

Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang was the victim of an awkward hit by Arizona’s Shane Doan during Saturday’s game and was hospitalized as a result. The Penguins revealed today that Letang is out of the hospital, but he did suffer a concussion.

“We’ll see how he feels over the next few days and go from there,” Penguins coach Mike Johnston said.

That puts the Penguins in an unusual situation. They aren’t in a position to send anyone to the minors to make room for a call up because all of the players they have on their NHL roster are eligible for waivers. On top of that, putting Letang or defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (upper body) on the long-term injured reserve list to free up some cap space isn’t an option because there’s less than 10 games remaining on their schedule.

As a result, Pittsburgh will dress five defensemen for tonight’s game against San Jose. In a pinch, Johnston said he would ask forward Daniel Winnik to “play some defense,” per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari.

Pittsburgh will also probably be without forward David Perron for a second straight game due to an illness.

Letang has dealt with more than his fair share of health issues in recent years and unfortunately he does have a concussion history.

If you missed Doan’s hit on Letang, here it is:

Related:

NHL on NBCSN: Sharks desperate for wins, Penguins seek definitive end to slump

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