Guentzel expected to be out 4 weeks for Penguins

Jake Guentzel is expected to be out four weeks for the Pittsburgh Penguins because of an upper-body injury.

The forward was injured during the third period of a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. His final shift ended at 8:02 after he took a hit from Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola at 7:10.

"We've got to keep competing," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said prior to a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. "Obviously, Jake's an important part of the team. He's a tough guy to replace, but it's going to provide opportunities for others to step up. And we've just got to make sure we focus on the guys that are in the lineup here. We believe we have enough to win. It's going to provide a lot of opportunity for others."

Guentzel, who had an assist Wednesday, is second on the Penguins in scoring with 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 50 games, trailing Sidney Crosby (54 points). Guentzel has 466 points (219 goals, 247 assists) in 503 regular-season games, all with Pittsburgh, and 58 points (34 goals, 24 assists) in 58 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Rickard Rakell replaced Guentzel on the Penguins' top line with Crosby and Bryan Rust on Thursday, and had two assists.

"Obviously, how the games play out is going to dictate a lot of that,” Sullivan said prior to the game. “We have an idea who we think we can use there. We'll explore it a little bit. Obviously, Jake's been on that left side quite a long time. We've got guys we can move into that position and see how it goes."

The Penguins recalled forwards Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza and Valtteri Puustinen from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League. Gruden and Puustinen each played Thursday; Hinostorza was scratched.

Pittsburgh (24-20-7) is sixth in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.