Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has stated that Jake Guentzel will be a game-time decision Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks. The Lightning forward has been dealing with an upper body injury since Saturday night, when he left early in the third period against the New York Rangers. He did not play on Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Tampa Bay Lightning headed out Wednesday to begin a three-game California road trip, but they are not sure whether they will be showing off their top offseason addition.

TAMPA — Whether the Lightning will have top-line forward Jake Guentzel available when they resume play Thursday in San Jose remains to be seen. But Guentzel did return to practice Tuesday wearing a red no-contact jersey after missing the team’s last game Sunday against Montreal with an upper-body injury.

Jake Guentzel scored in his NHL-best seventh straight game and the Tampa Bay Lightning fended off a strong comeback by the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets in a 5-3 win Tuesday night.

It’s not necessarily a surprise that Jake Guentzel has played so well in his first season with the Lightning. The left wing has produced the way the team envisioned when it traded for his rights in late June,

The Lightning are set to start the new year off with a jam-packed month of January, beginning first with a matchup against the San Jose Sharks. In total they’ll play sixteen times, including four sets of back-to-back games in just 21 days.