Pittsburgh Penguins F Matt Cullen out three-to-four weeks

The Pittsburgh Penguins may get one of their injured defensemen back soon, but now they have lost a forward, as veteran Matt Cullen is expected to miss three to four weeks after being hit by a shot on his right skate on Monday.

Cullen, 40, has eight goals and nine assists in 43 games, and he has not missed an NHL game since the 2014-15 season.

Cullen is the Penguins' fourth-line center, as well as their top penalty killing forward and a respected player in the dressing room.

Eric Fehr is expected to replace Cullen in the lineup. Fehr has been a healthy scratch for the past three games.

Meanwhile, defenseman Kris Letang is still week-to-week with a lower-body injury, while defenseman Brian Dumoulin could be returning soon.

Dumoulin has been sidelined since late December with a broken jaw. He will travel with the team on its two-game road trip to Montreal and Carolina although he has not been medically cleared.

He skated with the team on Tuesday and head coach Mike Sullivan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he is getting close to returning to game action.