Gonchar out 4-6 months

Sergei Gonchar will miss 4-6 months.  He's having surgery on Thursday for his dislocated shoulder.

Wow.  I thought the Pens had too many defensemen, but it would seem that Ray Shero may be psychic.

This will be a great chance for the defense to grow up fast without two of their top 4 for an extended period of time.  I see this as very similar to the Crosby injury last year - it will force everyone else to pick up their game.

Here are the top 7 on the blue line (in no particular order):

• Eaton
  
• Sydor
  
• Orpik
  
• Scuderi
  
• Gill
  
• Letang
  
• Goligoski
  

You know, that's still a pretty strong lineup.  Probably a bit lacking in offense, but they certainly have the toughness and speed.

Gonchar out indefinitely

Sergei Gonchar has a dislocated shoulder and is out indefinitely.

That hurts a whole lot. Fortunately, the Pens had a plethora of NHL defensemen on the roster prior to Whitney and Gonchar getting hurt. The quality may not be the same, but the team will certainly get to fill out the roster.

Looking on the bright side, we'll get to see the young guys take a much larger role. I'm especially intersted to see how Kris Letang steps up after a year in the NHL. Maybe Golisoski can pull a Letang and make a case to be a full time member of the defense corps.