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The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be deprived of All-Star defenseman Sergei Gonchar for four to six weeks because of a broken left wrist.
Gonchar landed awkwardly after colliding with a St. Louis Blues player midway through the second period of Tuesday night's 5-1 Penguins victory.
The injury will not require surgery.
"It's an unfortunate break," coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday. "It wasn't a hard hit, it wasn't a late hit. It was a normal hit, [a player] finishing a check. He must have caught him in an unfortunate spot."
Gonchar, who went into Wednesday's games third in scoring among NHL defensemen with eight points, missed the first 56 games of last season after undergoing left shoulder surgery.
The 35-year-old Russian had eight points in nine games and, as always, was the quarterback of Pittsburgh's dangerous power play. He also led the team in ice time, averaging 24 minutes and 6 seconds.
The Penguins were 27-24-5 without Gonchar in the lineup last season and 18-4-4 after he returned.
Gonchar also played the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, although he missed only two games.
The Penguins are 8-1 this season and have won six games in a row, but now must replace their most-used player. Their first game without him is Friday when the Florida Panthers visit Pittsburgh.
Gonchar is averaging three more minutes than any other Penguins defenseman. With Gonchar out, former Colorado defenseman Martin Skoula -- scratched for the first nine games -- is expected to play, and defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski will split time on the top power-play unit.
"I think right now you have to feel good about the signing of Martin Skoula," Bylsma said. "For nine games he was the odd man out and he wondered how he would get in. Now we have a guy with 700-plus NHL games were are going to insert into the lineup.
"It's tough to replace that veteran presence. But I think you saw early on we were rotating those three on the power play. We have an opportunity for those two guys [Goligoski and Letang] to take that particular spot."
Gonchar landed awkwardly after colliding with a St. Louis Blues player midway through the second period of Tuesday night's 5-1 Penguins victory.
The injury will not require surgery.
"It's an unfortunate break," coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday. "It wasn't a hard hit, it wasn't a late hit. It was a normal hit, [a player] finishing a check. He must have caught him in an unfortunate spot."
Gonchar, who went into Wednesday's games third in scoring among NHL defensemen with eight points, missed the first 56 games of last season after undergoing left shoulder surgery.
The 35-year-old Russian had eight points in nine games and, as always, was the quarterback of Pittsburgh's dangerous power play. He also led the team in ice time, averaging 24 minutes and 6 seconds.
The Penguins were 27-24-5 without Gonchar in the lineup last season and 18-4-4 after he returned.
Gonchar also played the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, although he missed only two games.
The Penguins are 8-1 this season and have won six games in a row, but now must replace their most-used player. Their first game without him is Friday when the Florida Panthers visit Pittsburgh.
Gonchar is averaging three more minutes than any other Penguins defenseman. With Gonchar out, former Colorado defenseman Martin Skoula -- scratched for the first nine games -- is expected to play, and defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski will split time on the top power-play unit.
"I think right now you have to feel good about the signing of Martin Skoula," Bylsma said. "For nine games he was the odd man out and he wondered how he would get in. Now we have a guy with 700-plus NHL games were are going to insert into the lineup.
"It's tough to replace that veteran presence. But I think you saw early on we were rotating those three on the power play. We have an opportunity for those two guys [Goligoski and Letang] to take that particular spot."
