Whew. Letang’s Injury Does Not Appear Serious

The updated status regarding Pittsburgh Penguins veteran defenseman Kris Letang‘s lower-body injury should provide some relief. He is listed as day to day, according to coach Mike Sullivan.

Letang missed Sunday’s home game against the New York Islanders because of what was described as a lower-body injury. The night before, in a road game against the Islanders, he appeared to ditch out of a puck pursuit and pull up. It did not appear that it was the result of any physical contact. He went to the bench and sat with his head down, apparently in pain, for a couple moments, but finished the game.

Sunday, Sullivan said Letang was still being evaluated. The Penguins were off Monday, so the update had to wait until after the team’s morning skate Tuesday in Detroit. Letang did not participate in the skate.

Letang, 37, a longtime team alternate captain who has manned the top defensive pairing and been a part of the power play for years, has seven goals (three of them on the power play), 16 points in 34 games this season. After playing in all 82 games last season for just the second time in his career, he missed three games earlier this season because of illness.

His season has been a bit uneven. He is logging his typical high minutes, a team-leading 23:24 per game, but his minus-17 rating is second-worst on the team.

The Penguins on Monday put lightly used forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers, which could have been a move to open a roster spot in case Letang was going to be out for a while.

With Letang out Sunday, defenseman Nathan Clurman made his NHL debut.

The Penguins have a New Year’s Eve date Tuesday with the Red Wings.