It looks like the Pittsburgh Penguins will have to get used to playing without forward James Neal for at least a little while.
After leaving Thursday’s contest for what initially sounded like precautionary reasons, Neal is now being described as week-to-week with an upper-body injury by Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Shelly Anderson.
Bylsma also cautioned that Neal doesn’t have a firm timetable for his return yet.
Neal was questionable for the contest to begin with, but he was given the green light after participating in the pre-game warmups. He had two shots on goal and logged 3:49 minutes before being yanked.
The 26-year-old forward entered this season as a threat to reach the 40-goal mark. Still, the Pittsburgh Penguins are so loaded with offensive talent that they can usually endure the loss of one of their star forwards.