And the defense takes another hit...
The Penguins, already missing their two most-skilled defensemen, are about to lose their largest.
Hal Gill, who is 6 feet 7, 250 pounds, is expected to sit out the Penguins' game against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:38 tonight at Mellon Arena because of injury. Team officials, again invoking a policy instituted recently by the NHL, declined to identify the nature of Gill's problem, which prevented him from practicing yesterday.
Gill joins Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, both of whose absences will be measured in months, on the list of injured defensemen, but coach Michel Therrien said Hill's status is "more day-to-day."
Penguins winger Matt Cooke, who missed the past three games because of an abdominal/rib injury, went through the full practice after skating on his own the previous four days.
While he did not commit to being able to dress against the Hurricanes, Cooke called practicing "another step in the right direction."
With Gill out, the Penguins' defense pairings will be reconfigured. The new combinations: Brooks Orpik-Rob Scuderi, Mark Eaton-Kris Letang and Darryl Sydor-Alex Goligoski.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08297/922167-61.stm
