(Pittsburgh) Jake Guentzel’s fiery start to the season has come to an abrupt end as the Pittsburgh Penguins forward is sidelined with an upper-body injury.
According to what the team announced on Wednesday, the situation will be reassessed “week to week”. Head coach Mike Sullivan did not provide further details on the nature of the injury or where or how it occurred.
Guentzel had left the game temporarily, in the first period Monday night, in a victory against the Seattle Kraken. He had returned to the game, however, and ended the night with two goals and one assist.
For defender Marcus Pettersson, it is up to the other players on the team to take over to make up for the loss of Guenzel. “This is what we have always done in recent seasons, nothing changes. It’s up to new players to seize the opportunity and take their game to the next level. We’ll see, ”he commented.
Guentzel was one of the most productive players during the first two months of the season in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently riding a 13-game streak with at least one point during which he scored 11 goals and accumulated seven assists.
In total, the 27-year-old forward has 15 goals and 12 assists in 24 games this season.
Kasperi Kapanen will likely have the first chance to slip into the role of Guentzel on the Penguins’ top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues, who himself replaces another injured winger, Bryan Rust. Kapanen, who has scored five goals in 25 games, has been walking from line to line in recent weeks.
“These are really big slip-on shoes, obviously,” Kapanen said. Jake has been one of our best players, if not our best player, for quite some time now. ”
The Penguins, who have won seven of their last ten games, are scheduled to begin a five-game road series in Washington on Friday.