I had a busy day yesterday and when I got home I checked my Penguins feed on Tweetdeck and the news was not great! Jake Guentzel(!) is going to be out week to week with an upper-body injury. I didn’t remember anything from Monday’s game against the Kraken and it is probably because Guentzel was busy doing what he has the last few weeks, scoring lots of goals. He scored once in the second period and then once in the third period. This happened in the first period
Jake Guentzel heads to the dressing room after blocking a shot with his right hand or wrist. #Pens
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) December 7, 2021
WHY DO PENGUINS PLAYERS CONSISTENTLY RETURN AND FINISH A GAME ONLY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH A WEEK TO WEEK INJURY AFTER.
Does this happen with other teams? I feel like this happens all the time with the Penguins and it has been happening for years, because it has. I actually addressed it back in 2017
NEW: https://t.co/Cvi2d0FY9h - Ryan Wilson - Conor Sheary injury part of a concerning trend https://t.co/hKS5MTvpFW #Pens pic.twitter.com/8O62WUCmrC
— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) February 2, 2017
Anybody who follows the Penguins knows what a big loss this is even if Guentzel wasn’t on a league high 13 game points steak. He’s a star player.
OK, but Jake’s out, who’s going to take his place? Is the answer Jesus?
The answer is not Jesus. It will be Kasperi Kapanen
On tonight's episode of the GM Show, @PensJG asked Ron Hextall if there was any further timeline on Evgeni Malkin's return: "I think Sully said it's week-to-week. That's still where he's at. Certainly we're closing in on that date."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 9, 2021
The silver lining of the injury is that the team is being forced to use Kapanen up with Sidney Crosby. I feel like this is a nice opportunity to see if there’s something to be had with those two. They haven’t played a lot together since Kapanen rejoined the team. As of right now they’ve shared the ice for 98 minutes. With Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel out of the lineup we should see at least another 98 minutes with Crosby and Kapanen. If it works then you have some potential flexibility with the lines. The way Rodrigues is playing you have another solid right winger. I would be open to seeing a third line with Carter and Rust and letting Rodrigues play with Malkin. This would spread out the talent on a roster which desperately needs to get away from being top heavy.
The Penguins are back in action tomorrow against the Washington Capitals.
Thanks for reading!