The Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty laid a hard hit to the head of the Penguins' Kris Letang during the two teams' matchup last week, and Letang had to leave the game. He eventually did return to knock in the game-winning goal, but the consequences of the hit continue to reverberate Tuesday.
Letang is currently listed as questionable for the Penguins' game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday after breaking his nose on the hit.
Letang missed the early portion of practice Monday at Southpointe to visit doctors for his nose as well for signs of a concussion. He said he will have an imPACT test today.
When asked about his playing status, Letang said: "All right so far. A problem breathing but that's part of it. I wanted to test it out there to see how I feel. We'll talk [today] with the [doctors]."
Pens coach Dan Bylsma thinks Letang will ultimately be ready to play. The team isn't expected to make any moves to compensate for the possibility of Letang being unavailable.
The Pens' matchup against the Rangers is a road game, and it begins on 7:30 PM. It will be broadcast on ROOT Sports.
On Monday, the NHL released video of the hit, with Brendan Shanahan explaining the league's decision to suspend Pacioretty for three games. It turns out the suspension will cost Pacioretty about $26,000, and that money will go to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. He should be able to come back against the Blue Jackets on December 6, and it looks like he'll miss games against the Ducks, Sharks and Kings.