Kris Letang of Penguins out about two weeks

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will miss a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday.
Letang did not practice Thursday after playing a Penguins-high 26:23 in a 4-3 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. If Sullivan's timeline holds true, Letang likely will miss Pittsburgh's remaining eight December games before its week off between games against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 31 and Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 8.

The Penguins will first play without their defensive leader Friday, when they host the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports, SN, ROOT).
"It won't be easy [to replace Letang]," Sullivan said. "It will be by committee. We think we have capable people and we'll sort it out. But certainly, he's a tough guy to replace."

During Pittsburgh's seven-game winning streak, Letang has played at least 23:31 in each game. Despite failing to score during the streak, he had seven assists, with at least one in five of the seven games.
Letang has averaged 26:04 this season, which leads the Penguins and is seventh in the NHL. His 19 points are tied for sixth among defensemen, with Rasmus Ristolainen of the Buffalo Sabres and Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets.
READ: Fantasy impact of Letang's injury
Pittsburgh could elevate defenseman Justin Schultz to Letang's position alongside Brian Dumoulin, or give additional minutes to Schultz's defense pair with Ian Cole. Schultz has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past eight games after failing to score in his first 22 this season.
Sullivan did not divulge his plans to replace Letang.
"[Schultz] is one option, for sure," Sullivan said. "We'll see how it goes, but we've got some ideas that we think we'll try and we'll see how it goes."
Schultz, acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 27, said his confidence had fallen when he arrived in Pittsburgh but added that hasn't been the case lately.

"They're just going in right now, I guess," Schultz said. "That happens sometimes. You get on a little streak and everything is going in. It's not going to last all season, I don't think. It would be nice if it did, but I think you just have to keep playing the same way with me and [Cole]."
Sullivan has tweaked several once-successful lines and defense pairs this season, including Letang's pair with defenseman Olli Maatta and the "HBK Line" of Nick Bonino centering Carl Hagelin and Olli Maatta, so Schultz could be shifted away from Cole. Schultz said he would feel comfortable playing with any of his teammates but would like to remain with Cole.
"My teammates have been great," Schultz said. "We have a lot of skilled players in here. They make it easy on you. They find you anywhere you are. Whenever [captain Sidney Crosby] has the puck, you try to get open for him. [Cole] has been an unbelievable help to me. I think we've worked well together and hopefully we can continue to do that."
The Penguins could recall defenseman Derrick Pouliot to fill Letang's role as a puck-moving offensive defenseman. Pouliot, who has played one NHL game this season because of a lower-body injury, was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with forward Jake Guentzel on Dec. 7 so each could receive some playing time, Sullivan said.
Pouliot has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 57 games in parts of three NHL seasons.
The Penguins have yet to decide if they will recall Pouliot, said Sullivan, who plans to discuss Pouliot with Pittsburgh's management group before facing Los Angeles.