CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jake Guentzel's status for the Penguins' Saturday night matchup in Columbus against the Blue Jackets is currently up in the air.
Guentzel was absent from Penguins practice Friday afternoon here at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry after leaving the game in the third period and not returning during Thursday night's 6-1 victory over the Kings.
Early in the third period, Guentzel took a hit up high along the boards from Brendan Lemieux:
Guentzel was slow returning to the bench, but did not head to the locker room or miss a shift.
Later in the third period, though, a point shot from Kris Letang deflected off traffic and hit Guentzel on the side of his head, right on the ear. He then went down the tunnel and did not return for the remainder of the game.
The 28-year-old winger was absent from practice on Friday. Danton Heinen assumed his spot on the left side of the Penguins' top line.
Following practice, Mike Sullivan said Guentzel is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury, but he will travel with the team to Columbus. Pushed to clarify whether or not the upper-body injury is a concussion, Sullivan wouldn't budge, but alluded that the injury had more to do with the puck Guentzel took to his ear rather than the hit he took from Lemieux.
The Penguins do not have enough cap space to call anyone up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL without putting someone on long-term injured reserve.
"It's probably a better question for Ron (Hextall)," Sullivan responded when asked how the Penguins might navigate their roster situation in the event Guentzel isn't ready to go Saturday.
If Guentzel isn't able to play against the Blue Jackets, the Penguins might be forced to dress seven defensemen, as Teddy Blueger, who has been out for three weeks with an upper-body injury, once again skated in a non-contact jersey during Friday's practice. It's unlikely he would get into any game action without at least one full-participation practice.
Sullivan said Blueger is continuing to make progress, but his status has not changed. He remains day-to-day.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Here are the lines and D-pairings utilized during practice:
Danton Heinen - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta/Chad Ruhwedel
• I asked Heinen about the possibility of playing on the top line with Crosby, and he said it will be important not to overthink things out there. He doesn't want to pass up any opportunities to shoot, but he also wants to make sure he's getting the puck to Crosby for him to work his magic.
Heinen's off to a pretty strong start to the season with a goal and three assists through four games.
• And the special teams personnel ...
PP1: Crosby, Rust, Rakell, Malkin, Letang
PP2: Carter, Heinen, Zucker, Petry, Joseph
PK1: Poehling, McGinn, Dumoulin, Rutta (Blueger rotated in)
PK2: Kapanen, Archibald, Pettersson, Ruhwedel
• No team in the NHL has a better goal differential than the Penguins' +12 through four games. They are tied for second in the NHL with an .875 points percentage.
• There are nine Penguins skaters currently averaging a point per game or more thus far, which is two skaters more than any other team in the league.
• The Penguins will hold an optional morning skate Saturday in Columbus, 11:30 a.m., before the game against the Blue Jackets at 7:08 p.m. I'll have your coverage for the game and all throughout the day.
