Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang left a Pittsburgh hospital on Sunday with bad news — he has a concussion that will idle him two weeks ahead of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“We'll take it as a day-to-day thing, see how he reacts and recovers from it,” coach Mike Johnston told reporters, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Breaking news: Pens' Letang out of hospital, has concussion - Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was relea... http://t.co/OpQ6EAnxF5
— 4th and Goal (@419Football) March 29, 2015There was no immediate timetable for Letang's return. The regular season ends April 11, and the playoffs begin April 15. The Pens entered Sunday third in the Metropolitan Division and would face the New York Islanders, who hold home-ice advantage, in the first round. The Penguins played host to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, with a 7:35 p.m. ET faceoff.
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Letang, a key defenseman for the Pens, spent the night under observation after a hard hit during Saturday's game against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Coach Johnston on Letang: “He has a concussion, so that’s been determined. He’s been released from the hospital."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 29, 2015 Coyotes right winger Shane Doan gave Letang a hard shove to the chest near the end boards, and Letang's head appeared to snap back against the boards as he fell to the ice. Doan didn't get a penalty on the play.
"After reviewing the play carefully and from all angles, we have determined that this was an unfortunate result from a hockey play. It is not boarding, it is not charging, he doesn't hit him in the head. He finishes his check by shoving Letang and unfortunately [Letang] falls awkwardly," a member of the NHL's Department of Player Safety told Fox Sports Arizona's Craig Morgan. "It wasn't really even a violent hit, although resulted in an unfortunate injury."
The Pens, who are fighting to retain their place in the 2015 playoff field, were already without defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, who is nursing an upper-body injury. Team officials believe Ehrhoff will miss at least another week. For now, Johnston if forced to use five defensemen. The Penguins can't recall a defensemen because of salary cap constraints and likely would use forward Daniel Winnik as an emergency blue-liner, the Tribune-Review reported.
Doan said he didn't want to allow Letang to get by him on the play.
"We have to finish our checks on (Letang)," Doan told NHL.com . "I hit him just to stop him from jumping by, and you never ever want to see anyone like that, especially a guy with his caliber and everything he's went through in the past couple years, you never want to see that.
"So you feel awful as a player when something like that happens."
This is at least the fourth concussion for Letang, who also had a stroke 14 months ago and deals with migraine headaches.
Despite his ailments, Letang is among the NHL's best defensemen this season, with 54 points in 69 games as a top-pair player.
Contributing: Ray Slover