Gonchar out with injury

WASHINGTON -- Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar was not in the lineup for Game 5 against the Washington Capitals Saturday night, and his status for the rest of the series remains questionable.

Gonchar was injured 14:55 into the first period of Game 4 Friday night at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh when he had a knee-on-knee collision with Alex Ovechkin in the corner of the Penguins' defensive zone. He went spinning into the air and was in obvious pain as he writhed on the ice.

Gonchar had to be helped off the ice by a trainer and did not return to the game. Ovechkin was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping.

Several Penguins suggested the knee-on-knee hit by Ovechkin was intentional, but Ovechkin said it was an accident and felt remorse for the injury. The NHL took no disciplinary action against Ovechkin.

With Gonchar out, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma elected to play seven defensemen. Alex Goligoski, who was called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Saturday morning, was dressed along with veteran Philippe Boucher, who was a healthy scratch for the first four games of the series.

Pascal Dupuis is the odd forward out for the Penguins.

Contact Dan Rosen at [email protected].

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