'It’s just going in right now' for Penguins forward Jake Guentzel

Jake Guentzel looked destitute.

After a 4-0 home loss to the Calgary Flames on Oct. 28 — arguably, the low point of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season thus far — Guentzel fielded questions from media and didn’t say much.

But his body language spoke volumes.

His arms were crossed. His posture was hunched. And his eyes reflected a blend of aggravation, frustration and confusion.

Guentzel had been blanked on four shots that night (off eight attempts). At that time, it was Guentzel’s fifth consecutive game without a goal.

“I’ve got to be better,” said a glum Guentzel who had been limited to a single goal in his first seven games of the season. “I’ve got to help as much as I can, and I’ve got to start producing.”

A little less than a month later, Guentzel has responded to his own harsh critique.

Thanks to an empty-net goal in a 3-1 road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, Guentzel extended a scoring streak to a career-best five games.

“The puck just goes in sometimes like that,” Guentzel said to reporters Saturday in Toronto. “It finds its way in sometimes like that. Just trying to throw pucks on the net and get it into the net. It’s just going in right now. That’s the game of hockey sometimes. You just kind of feed off of it when they’re going in.”

It would be impossible to thoroughly examine Guentzel’s five-game goal-scoring outburst without also acknowledging that he’s had the luxury of playing with his typical center, Sidney Crosby, for each of the past five games.

Before this five-game quintet, Crosby had been limited to one contest this season because of various medical woes, namely his recovery from offseason wrist surgery as well as a bout with covid-19.

“We have a lot of chemistry,” Guentzel said. “We’ve played together for quite some time. He takes up a lot of space out there with the (defensemen). A lot of (opponents) key on him. I’m just trying to find those open spots and get my shot off and be around the net. It’s nice when you play with a player like that.”

Crosby largely deflected any suggestion his presence has had a direct correlation with Guentzel’s boost in offense.

“(Guentzel) has just got a real knack for finding open ice. He goes to the net hard so he can score in and around the net,” he said. “Whatever the game dictates, if it’s tight-checking he’s going to go to the front, he’s willing to do it. If it’s more open, then he can make plays and shoot and score from the slot. It has more to do with him than me. I still think we can generate more. I feel like we can generate more zone time and hold onto pucks and get better. That’s a good thing. We’ll look to try to do that. But he’s playing great hockey and finding the back of the net.”

Regardless of the reasons, Guentzel, who missed the first game of the season after testing positive for covid 19, leads the team in goals with eight through 17 games.

“He’s playing the right way,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s playing an honest game. He’s not trying to force plays that aren’t there. He’s defending when he needs to. He’s on the right side of the puck, and he’s strong on the puck. When he plays an honest game, he’s a talented player. He’s going to get opportunities to score. He’ll create offense. That’s what I’ve seen in his game most recently is just the honest effort on both sides of the puck.

“Right now, he’s playing an honest game. He’s giving an honest effort, and he’s getting rewarded.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Tuesday.

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