Kris Letang is expected to end his 21-game absence from the Pittsburgh Penguins blue-line against the New York Rangers on Thursday. The Penguins defenseman has been out since suffering a concussion on Nov. 26 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Kris Letang Set To Return To Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup Thursday
Kris Letang has been out of the Penguins lineup since Nov. 26 when he suffered a concussion.
Brooks Orpik, Letang's teammate, cautioned against having expectations be too high after such a long lay off (via the Penguins website):
“It will take him some time too to get his timing back. You can’t expect him to be back to where he was when he got hurt. I know he worked hard to get back and did a lot of conditioning to try and get back to as close as you can to normal. The six guys that were playing were playing really well. Anytime you get a guy like him back, he’s a tough guy to replace.”
Letang was an NHL All-Star last season and seemed to be destined for another invite before Max Pacioretty's hit sidelined him. In 22 games, he had three goals and 16 assists. A year ago, he had eight goals and 42 assists.
Pacioretty’s hit caused Letang to leave the ice with a bloodied head. Although Letang was able to return to the game and score the overtime winner, it was learned shortly after about the concussion. Pacioretty was suspended three games.
The news is not as good for Letang's teammate Sidney Crosby, who remains out with concussion-like symptoms. Crosby remains in Atlanta where he is meeting with a specialist. Letang said Crosby gave him some advice about knowing when to come back:
“Pay attention to how your body reacts out there and make sure I’m 100 percent ready, not taking any chances because you need your head for the rest of your life. It was a question of feeling good and being confident that I can do the job out there.”
For more on Letang’s return, be sure to check out Penguins blog Pensburgh.
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