You won’t find Jake Guentzel’s name in the NHL’s record books.

That’s because the NHL quit publishing such tomes a handful of years ago in the pursuit of posting that information exclusively online.

But Guentzel always will have a place in NHL history, having introduced himself to the hockey world by tying a league record for most postseason points by a rookie with the 21 he collected in 25 games during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2017.

He further galvanized his postseason credentials in 2018 when he tied a franchise record held by franchise icons Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens as he scored four goals during Game 6 of a first-round series against the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

Guentzel long ago established himself as a prolific playoff performer.

Yet, though the first four games of his ongoing first-round series with the New York Islanders, Guentzel had not scored despite leading the Penguins with 19 shots.

Despite that futility, Penguins management has professed optimism Guentzel will begin to convert his chances.

“Obviously, we’d like him to find the back of the net,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “There’s not doubt about that. But as a team, as a coaching staff, as a group of players, all we can control is the process. That’s what we look at. (The first line) has had a fair amount of looks. Jake’s had a number of opportunities. The puck hasn’t gone in the net for him to this point. But he’s had a fair amount of opportunities to finish.

“Our feeling is that if he just stays with it, he’ll find the back of the net. He’s too good a player.”

During the regular season, Guentzel was the Penguins’ second-leading scorer with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) in 56 games.

McCann slowed, too

Penguins forward Jared McCann also failed to score a goal through the first four games of the series while recording nine shots on net.

Limited to a single assist by the Islanders, McCann’s production has seen a significant drop from how he finished regular season by recording 21 points in the final 23 games.

“Just average right now, I think,” McCann said when asked to evaluate his play this series. “I know I’ve got a lot better. Obviously, you can’t control that kind of stuff. Sometimes, that’s just the way hockey goes. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. You’ve got to give their (goalies) credit. They’ve played well. I’m just going to keep pushing here I’m not going to dwell on it. You’ve got to stay positive through things like this. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Said Sullivan: “All that Jared is can control is just the process, trying to play the game the right way, making sure that he’s doing his job shift to shift. If he does, he’ll get the looks. When he gets the looks, I think Jared has the ability to finish. We all know that.”

DeSmith down again

Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith missed his eighth consecutive game when he was scratched for Game 5 on Monday at PPG Paints Arena.

Sidelined since suffering an undisclosed injury May 3, DeSmith did not participate in Monday’s morning skate. Sullivan did not provide an update on his status.

Reserve goaltender Maxime Lagace served as the backup to starter Tristan Jarry for the fifth consecutive game.

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