Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed Tuesday’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena because of an undisclosed illness.
He was replaced in the lineup by reserve defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.
In 21 games this season, Letang leads the team’s defensemen with 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) and leads all non-goaltenders with an average of 23 minutes, 54 seconds of ice time per contest.
This marks the second time this season the right-handed Letang has been sidelined by illness. He previously missed a 6-5 home overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 1.
Ruhwedel returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous six games. The right-hander has appeared in six games this season and has one assist while averaging 13:17 of ice time per contest.
