TSN Reports Justin Schultz Believed to Suffer Fracture

injury According to TSN Insider Bob McKenzie, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz is believed to have suffered a fractured left leg or ankle.

Schultz, 28, left the Penguins 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens after tangling with Tomas Plekanec along the boards. Schultz left leg turned unnaturally beneath him. Penguins trainers helped Schultz helped off the ice to the locker room after he laid on the ice for several minutes.

Fracture can often times be a better result than a high ankle sprain but if surgery is required for the fracture, which may be the case here, that could change things.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 14, 2018

Schultz was off to a good start. He had four points in the Penguins first four games.

“I was looking at the puck on the other side of the ice,” said Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith. “And I heard him yell.”

The injury forced the Penguins to play with five defensemen for most of the game against Montreal. Lead defenseman Kris Letang played 32 minutes and his defense partner Brian Dumoulin played over 27 minutes.

“Gutsy. Amazing. I thought (Letang) had a really solid game. He made a lot of plays for us,” said Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith.

Schultz is in the second year of a three year contract with an average annual value of $5.5 million. The Penguins practice at 11 a.m. Monday and more information could be available then, as well as new defensive pairings. The Penguins have scratched Olli Maatta and Jamie Oleksiak in successive games in order to play Finnish rookie defenseman Juuso Riikola.