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Shirey: Letang's lower-body injury paves way for Smith's pivotal opportunity

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Already hampered by Jeff Petry's injury that has him on long-term injured reserve, the Penguins' defense now faces an even bigger challenge.

Kris Letang was not on the ice for Penguins practice on Thursday here at the UPMC Lemieux Complex in Cranberry. It was later announced by Mike Sullivan that Letang's being evaluated for a lower-body injury.

Letang led all skaters in ice time with 27:01 on Wednesday night in the Penguins' 5-4 overtime loss to the Red Wings, but he did block a shot toward the end of the first period that left him hobbled and forced him to cut his shift short after clearing the puck from the defensive zone.