DENVER -- Patric Hornqvist was nowhere to be seen in Denver on Monday. He didn't even have a stall in the locker room.
While his teammates were skating in Denver ahead of tonight's game against the Avalanche, Hornqvist returned to Pittsburgh to be evaluated for an upper-body injury, according to coach Mike Sullivan.
The injury occurred in Saturday night's win at Arizona, according to Sullivan, who did not elaborate on the nature of Hornqvist's injury or a timeline for his return. This injury is not related to the one Hornqvist suffered when he took a puck to the head Dec. 9 against Toronto, forcing him to miss the third period of that game.
Though Hornqvist is out, Sullivan said he has plenty of options to fill out the lineup, including Josh Archibald and Tom Kuhnhackl, healthy scratches in recent games. The Penguins will still likely go with six defensemen Monday night.
Archibald, who has appeared in just two games this season, the last coming Nov. 22, skated on the top line with Crosby during the morning skate at the Pepsi Center Monday. Sullivan said he likes what Archibald could bring to that line.
"He can really skate, he plays a speed game," Sullivan said. "He's an energy guy. I think he can kill penalties. He can be hard to play against. He brings a physical element to our team game."
Hornqvist's absence might be felt most on the power play. The Swede leads the Penguins with six power-play goals. Jake Guentzel filled in on the No. 1 unit Monday morning. Though he's smaller, Guentzel brings some similar qualities to Hornqvist.
"He can still go to the front of the net, he can go to the battle areas, but he brings an element of playmaking ability to the table that might be a little bit different than Hornqivst, who is more of a battle guy and just going to the net front and making it hard for the goaltender," Sullivan said.