The Pittsburgh Penguins returned home for a practice while Jake Guentzel stayed home with an illness.
As the Pittsburgh Penguins work to turn their early season woes around, they are dealing with more than just injuries and loss of momentum.
The Penguins held their first practice following their sixth straight loss and there were some notable names not on the ice.
Jake Guentzel, Josh Archibald, and Jeff Carter were all absent from the ice.
According to head coach Mike Sullivan, Carter is still considered day-to-day with a lower body injury that has forced him out of the lineup for two games.
Sullivan said that Archibald was given the day off for maintenance; Archibald is currently riding a two-game goal streak in the teams last two losses.
Guentzel, meanwhile, missed the practice due to an illness; Sullivan said that Guentzel was “out sick, so he stayed home.”
It is not clear how long Guentzel will be sidelined for with his illness.
The Penguins look to snap their losing streak when they take on the Seattle Kraken tomorrow.
If Guentzel misses the game against the Kraken, he will be the second Penguins skater to miss time due to an illness rather than an injury.
Defenseman Kris Letang was out for the loss against the Boston Bruins, but returned the next day in Buffalo.
Guentzel has been one of the Penguins best players through the early part of the season, scoring five goals in seven games.
The goal scoring forward already missed a few games this year with an upper-body injury.
The Penguins hope that this is just a bug that can move on in a day and Guentzel can be on the ice for their next game.
Guentzel doesn’t guarantee a win against the Kraken, but his skills sure do make it much more likely for the Penguins.
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