All-Star Penguins forward Jake Guentzel has room to improve

Chemistry is a difficult thing to define in hockey.

It’s certainly not like chemistry in … well … science, where specifics like atomic numbers and covalent bonds can make up a compound.

Trying to explain why certain wingers and specific centers fit with each other is much more nebulous.

On Friday, Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby offered a pretty vivid explanation of their chemistry — not through words but through action, during a 3-2 home shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Early in the third period, Guentzel was the Penguins’ lead forechecker and hunted down Red Wings defenseman Filip Hornek along Detroit’s end boards and forced him into turning over the puck. Crosby claimed it near the left corner.

Even before Crosby had established possession, Guentzel was alert enough to peel off to the slot. From there, he was able to take Crosby’s pass and put a one-timer past goaltender Calvin Pickard’s blocker for a tying goal.

“You know he’s going to find you wherever you are,” said Guentzel, who scored each of the Penguins’ goals Friday. “For me, I’ve just got to be ready for it. He can find you at different times. I’m just trying to get open in the soft areas. Just a world-class passer. For me, that’s an easy one in the slot there.”

It marked the 111th time one has assisted on a goal by the other. And it won’t be the last.

Provided each is able-bodied, they figure to remain one of the NHL’s most prolific scoring tandems for the foreseeable future.

Crosby’s contributions to that union are obvious as he’s one of the greatest players in NHL history.

But Guentzel? He’s not a physical force. In fact, he’s kind of puny, even by the modern NHL’s streamlined standards. At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, he doesn’t have a commanding presence.

And he’s not overly fleet. Guentzel’s not slow by any means. But if you lined up the Penguins’ 12 best forwards in a race, he’d probably finish in the bottom six.

Additionally, Guentzel doesn’t have any kind of signature shot. Crosby has a dagger of a backhander, and forward Evgeni Malkin possesses a thunderclap of a one-timer. Guentzel? His wrister has all the velocity of a crockpot.

But he finds ways to score goals. Through 38 games this season, he leads the Penguins with 23.

“He’s really good at using his body, even though it isn’t the biggest,” said Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson, previously a member of the Florida Panthers who had to defend Guentzel. “At the end of the day, if a guy gets body position on me in front of the net, it’s hard to move him, regardless of how big he is. He’s really good at that. He’s really good at finding the puck on his stick, whether it’s for tips or getting open. He kind of just has that knack for knowing when to push off a defenseman and create a bit of separation for himself, and that’s hard to play against as a defenseman.”

Goaltenders don’t seem to care for the task of facing Guentzel, either. Even in practice.

“He’s not scared to go the net front,” Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith said. “He got both of his goals (Friday) from directly in the slot. He gets a lot of his goals like that, whether it’s rebounds or tips. He’s just a guy who’s willing to pay the price to go to go to the dirty areas and get sticks on pucks and all that stuff. He screens on a lot of goals, too. That doesn’t end up on the scoresheet, but it does for other guys and it ends up in the net.

“It pays off for him and the team.”

Guentzel is slated to participate in the NHL’ All-Star Game event next weekend. It’s the second time he’s been selected for the event.

Along with that recognition, Guentzel has a 40-goal season and five consecutive 20-goal seasons on his resume. And the Stanley Cup ring he won in 2017 with the Penguins was accomplished by him setting a handful of postseason scoring records.

With all those accomplishments, is there room for improvement?

“There’s a lot of potential for Jake to grow,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I don’t think players ever arrive. It’s a journey that players go through. What makes elite players what they are is their appetite and their inner drive to be the very best. And Jake is one of those guys. He falls in that category. He has quietly, I think, emerged as one of the superstars in the league and has been for the last couple of years. … I’m not sure the rest of the hockey world recognizes how good Jake really is.”

At 27, however, he might not have hit his ceiling yet.

“There’s a lot of room for growth in Jake’s game in all areas,” Sullivan said. “He’ll improve to get better because he’s willing to put the work in. He has an inner drive we see every day when he steps on the ice.”