Injured Penguins defenseman Kris Letang doesn't regret sticking up for teammate

Given the chance to do it all over again, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang doesn’t know what he could do differently.

Letang was injured during the outdoor game in Philadelphia on Feb. 23, coming to the defense of teammate Brian Dumoulin after he was given a concussion by a Wayne Simmonds hit. Letang was hurt when he was tackled by Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and tumbled to the ice.

“You have one of your teammates that gets hit. I think it’s illegal,” Letang said Tuesday morning. “What, am I going to stay at the point and watch it? No. Obviously I’m jumping in. It’s the right thing to do.

“Those things happen. If I block a shot and break my leg, are you going to tell me not to block a shot? It’s part of the game. That’s what makes us a tight team when players stick up for each other. I wouldn’t change anything.”

Letang skated with teammates Tuesday for the first time since the injury occurred, taking part in an optional morning skate in a non-contact capacity. He’ll miss his fourth straight game when the Penguins play host to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

“It was an optional morning skate, so nothing too hard out there,” Letang said. “It was just fun to have some people to skate with around me and have some interaction.”

Letang didn’t get into specifics about his upper-body injury, but he said it’s not related to the neck surgery he had in April of 2017.

“It has nothing to do with that, so it doesn’t matter,” Letang said. “I’m just going to heal, and I’m not ready to go, so that’s it.”

Letang said it’s too early to tell whether his current injury is something that he’ll have to grit his teeth and play through down the stretch.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m (going) through the process right now. We’ll see, I guess.”

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