Lightning's Jake Guentzel reveals why he didn't go with Team USA to President Trump's State of the Union

Jake Guentzel got the chance to speak with reporters on Wednesday to clear the air.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward didn't join his Team USA men's hockey teammates at the White House and President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

He simply wanted to share what he was thinking.

"Just to go on with the White House stuff, it was just a timing thing for me and my family," Guentzel said. "I was definitely not denying the request to go. It'd definitely be a dream come true to go. I was fortunate to go in 2017 (with the Penguins) when Trump was in office. But I just thought with games (Wednesday and Thursday), we've got a lot of games coming up the rest of the year, it's a tough schedule. Two weeks of Olympic break, thought it would be good to come home, rest and recover and spend some time with my family before we get going. That's where I'm at with it."

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Guentzel was one of five players not to attend, along with Kyle Connor, Jake Oettinger, Brock Nelson and Jackson LaCombe.

All five of the players who didn't head to the nation's capital are on teams who are playing in the NHL on Wednesday, the first possible day for action as the league resumes from the Olympic break.

Guentzel and the Lightning host the Toronto Maple Leafs (and U.S. captain Auston Matthews) on Wednesday night before heading to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes on Thursday.

This season, Guentzel has played in 55 games and scored 26 goals with 34 assists (60 points).

The Lightning are surely hoping that Guentzel can carry the gold medal momentum into the rest of this season in Tampa Bay.

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