Fleury Out 6-8 Weeks, Therien Expects Club Not To Get Another Goalie……….
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, unbeaten the last three weeks, has a badly sprained ankle that will keep him out of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup for up to two months.
Penguins forward Maxime Talbot has a similar injury and may be out a month. Both Fleury and Talbot were examined Wednesday by a team doctor after the Penguins returned from an eight-day road trip.
Fleury and Talbot have a more severe type of sprain that occurs in the ligaments of the upper ankle and takes longer to heal than a normal sprain. The team said the minimum Fleury will be out is six weeks, or until late January.
Losing Fleury and Talbot for an extended stretch is a major setback for the Penguins, who made the playoffs for the first time in six years last season but have hovered around the .500 mark this season. They take a 15-13-2 record into Thursday night’s home game against Ottawa.
The injuries occurred during what traditionally is one of the busiest stretches of the season, with Thursday’s game being the Penguins’ sixth in 11 days. Even if Fleury can return in late January, he would miss 19 games — nearly one-quarter of the schedule.
Coach Michel Therrien does not expect the club to add another goaltender, which means the Penguins will go with former Vancouver backup Dany Sabourin as their starter.