PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned defensemen Carl Sneep and Brian Strait to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Sunday.

Sneep made his NHL debut Saturday against Buffalo and recorded an assist. Strait has been in Pittsburgh recovering from a hyperextended elbow.

The demotion of both players could mean a regular starter or two is poised to return to the blue line. Zbynek Michalek appeared close to returning from a concussion last week but never ended up playing. Paul Martin suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday at Ottawa.

Kris Letang and Robert Bortuzzo are both out with concussions as well. Neither has returned to practicing with the full team.

Sending Sneep and Strait down to the AHL could just be temporary, too. The Penguins have one game over the next five days — Wednesday against Chicago.

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