The Penguins got some devastating news on Wednesday. Their star defenseman, Kris Letang, will miss four to six months with a herniated disc in his neck. This injury will keep him out for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The news couldn’t have come at a worse time. With the playoffs beginning on April 12, the Penguins were just beginning to finally welcome back injured players such as Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, with Trevor Daley and Evgeni Malkin expected to slot in within the coming days.

The Penguins were forced to acquire guys like Mark Streit and Ron Hainsey at the trade deadline to fill the gap between then and the playoffs. While they’ve done an admirable job, no one can replace Letang’s production for the playoffs.

On their way to winning the Stanley Cup in 2016, the Penguins leaned on Letang to play 30 minutes a night on defense as he matched up against some of their opponents’ best forwards.

He factored in on many of the team’s goals throughout the playoffs and scored the game winner in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks.

The Penguins have gone 12-8 in the most recent stretch without Letang. While that record may be positive, the Penguins have given up a lot of shots in that span, which almost certainly is a result of losing Letang on the blue line.

This means the Penguins will need added production to get past teams like first-round opponent the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as the Washington Capitals.

This will also put added pressure on Malkin and Sidney Crosby to be able to score in big moments and make up for the defense that may be lackluster.

The effect on likely starting goalie Matt Murray is that he will be his facing more shots. Over his last seven starts, Murray has faced 30 or more shots in each game. The pressure on Murray to be solid will be immense, but he has played well enough that the team and fans should be confident in his ability to win his second Stanley Cup in as many seasons.

Letang’s absence may make or break the chance to repeat in 2017. The Penguins have played many games without Letang over the years, so they will have to find a way to use their defensive depth to make the repeat a possibility.