The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without star scorer Jake Guentzel for the short term, as he’s been listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The injury forced Guentzel out of Tampa Bay’s lineup in their Sunday matchup against Montreal.
This marks Guetnzel’s first absence of the season. He’s otherwise been a core pillar of Tampa Bay’s top line, racking up 20 goals and 37 points in 33 games. Those totals put Guentzel second on the team in goals, but fourth in total points – a serious testament to the strength of the Lightning offense. There were plenty of worries to be had after Tampa Bay let longtime captain Steven Stamkos walk this summer. But the addition of Guentzel has helped the Bolts net 132 goals on the season, second-most in the NHL, with 98 of those goals coming from the team’s top-six forwards. Upholding that standing will fall on Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, and Brayden Point while Guentzel works his way back to full health
Michael Eyssimont filled the lineup vacancy left by Guentzel on Sunday, making his return after missing Tampa’s last game with a lower-body injury. Eyssimont stepped into his usual role on the fourth-line, while Cam Atkinson received a promotion to the top line. Neither player recorded any scoring in the matchup. They’ve both scored three goals and five points this season – Atkinson in 20 games, and Eyssimont in 31.
Guentzel will be back for Thursday’s game at San Jose. No real concern as his injury seems to be minor.
However, off topic here, Tampa losing to Montreal is head scratching (a team they shouldn’t lose too) but I won’t get into that. Tampa does have an issue being 1-5 in their own division as that’s troublesome. Tampa needs to get more physical as the Atlantic is a physical division. Tampa needs to look for a physical forward or two to add by the trade deadline.