Jake Guentzel is expected to be out of the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup for four weeks.

PITTSBURGH – With under a month until the trade deadline and the Pittsburgh Penguins fighting for their playoff lives, they will have to trek on without Jake Guentzel. The Penguins announced ahead of their battle with the Chicago Blackhawks that Guentzel has been placed on injured reserve.

Guentzel is expected to miss four weeks with an upper-body injury, and the Penguins project he will return to the lineup in early March. The Penguins sit seven points out of a playoff spot with a few games in hand, but Guentzel would have been a critical piece to pushing for the postseason.

Without Guentzel in the equation, the road got far more difficult for the Penguins. This won’t necessarily take him off trade boards, as he will still be a hot topic in the trade market.

Guentzel has played in every game up to this point with 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 total points.

Guentzel suffered his upper-body injury against the Florida Panthers. Head coach Mike Sullivan had no other updates following the contest other than he was being evaluated.

The Penguins have recalled Valtteri Puustinen, Jonathan Gruden, and Vinnie Hinostroza to fill in the open roster spots at the NHL level.

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