The Pittsburgh Penguins will try for their eighth consecutive victory, but they'll be without defenseman Kris Letang, who sustained a lower-body injury during a 4-3 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The injury is expected to keep Letang, who has played 26:04 per game this season, out for a couple of weeks, coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. The Penguins recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday and could insert him in the lineup to fill Letang's role as a puck-moving offensive defenseman. Pouliot has played one NHL game this season, against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 20; he played 12:29 before sustaining a lower-body injury. "I'll go out there and try not to do too much off the bat here," Pouliot said. "Pick my spots, try to jump into the rush when I can, defend hard and help keep this ball rolling." If Pouliot doesn't dress, Steve Oleksy could play his second game this season. Oleksy played 11:06 against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 26. Either way, defenseman Justin Schultz should receive increased ice time with Letang sidelined. Schultz has five goals and 12 points in his past eight games after not scoring a goal in his first 22 games. Forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel did not participate in an optional morning skate Friday, so Pittsburgh's plan to replace Letang on its top power-play unit remains unknown. Sullivan said elevating Schultz to the top unit is one of several options.
