Jake Guentzel injury proves the Pittsburgh Penguins are cursed this season

The Pittsburgh Penguins cannot catch a break with injuries so far this season, and now an injury to Jake Guentzel proves that they might just be cursed.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently dealing with a curse, and it’s only getting worse.

The Penguins announced today that Jake Guentzel, the teams leading scorer, underwent a successful shoulder surgery Monday night following a collision into the boards after scoring a goal in the Penguins 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. He is expected to miss 4-6 months.

Guentzel scored his 20th goal of the season prior to colliding with the boards, and currently leads the Penguins this season with 43 points in 39 games. Unfortunately, that might be his final total for the season considering the timetable for this injury. Depending on if the Penguins make the playoffs and how far they go, it’s very possible that Guentzel will not be back until next season.

Not even 24 hours prior, Guentzel was named an All-Star for the first time in his four year career. This will be the first time that Guentzel has missed any games since his rookie year.

Guentzel’s injury is the latest in a long list of ailments that the Penguins have had to deal with so far this season. Since the start of the season, they have had 23 separate injuries, several of those being key players missing significant time:

• Evgeni Malkin missed about a month with a lower body injury
• Patric Hornqvist missed three weeks with a leg injury
• Kris Letang missed several weeks with a lower body injury
• Sidney Crosby has been out since Nov. 9 after core muscle surgery
• Nick Bjugstad out since Nov.16 with a lower body injury, out two months
• Brian Dumoulin out since Dec.1 with ankel injury, out two months
• Hornqvist missed another four weeks with a lower body injury
• Justin Schultz out week to week since Dec.18 with a lower body injury
• Guentzel out 4-6 months after shoulder surgery

Despite all of those injuries that would normally sink a team, the Penguins have thrived. As of January 31, the Penguins are the fourth best team in the NHL with 52 points. They have the second best goal differential in the NHL with a +32, and are 8-2-0 in their last ten games.

But a lot of the Penguins success without Crosby can be attributed to Guentzel’s phenomenal performances. Since Crosby went absent from the lineup, Guentzel scored at least one point in 16 of 22 games. With him gone and Crosby still out, the Penguins depth will have to step up even more than they already have, lest they fall behind in the razor-close Metropolitan division. If they can’t, then the trade deadline for the Penguins will have to be much busier than they anticipated.

In brighter news for Pittsburgh, Crosby returned to practice today in a non-contact jersey, and could be returning to the lineup soon.

The Penguins have survived dealing with injuries all season, but only time will tell if losing their leading scorer will prove too much for even them.