Jake Guentzel had a pretty good perspective on the return of teammate Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup.

By … oh … let’s say … 40 feet.

During a 4-1 home win against the Ottawa Senators, Petry, a right-handed defenseman, played his first game in more than a month after recovering from a left arm injury and made a pretty immediate impact by helping generate the opening goal on a power-play opportunity 11 minutes, 14 seconds into regulation.

From the center point of the offensive zone, Petry accepted a pass, identified a shooting lane and clapped a half-slapper.

But the net wasn’t necessarily his primary aim.

He had his sights set at something a bit closer.

Stationed just below the left hashmark was Guentzel, and the two-time All-Star forward had his stick positioned just above the ice. The puck glanced off the forehand of Guentzel’s stick blade and bounded onto the cage.

Senators goaltender Cam Talbot made a save but was handcuffed in terms of corralling a rebound that eventually was cleaned up on a forehand shot by Penguins forward Rickard Rakell.

Guentzel recorded the primary assist, but he knew Petry was primarily responsible for generating the opportunity.

“He’s just got a really good shot,” Guentzel said. “He’s really smart with it and makes a lot of plays out there.”

Serving as the quarterback of the top power-play unit, Petry considered all of his options on the sequence and deemed his shot attempt was the best available.

“When I got it, they had a guy playing (defense on forward Sidney Crosby) and a guy kind of on (forward Evgeni Malkin),” Petry said. “It was a long ways for (another) guy to come and get in the lane. With Jake being in front, there was an opening. There was a lane there, and he was in front, available to get a stick on it.”

Plays such as that — specifically finding shooting lanes — were among the primary reasons Penguins management moved heaven and earth — or at least a few incumbent defensemen off the roster — to acquire Petry from the Montreal Canadiens in a major trade in July.

“It’s a really important skill for defensemen in today’s game — with the nature of how teams defend with layers of shot-blockers, on the power-play in particular — just knowing when to deliver the puck down to the net when we have sticks and bodies there to give our guys an opportunity to get a stick on it or bang in a rebound,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “When you look at how goals are scored, especially on the power play, in particular, a lot of them, the impetus of the plays start with some sort of shot from the top or the flanks. Then either a rebound occurs or someone gets a stick on it, there’s a slot deflection.”

During his tenure with the Canadiens, Petry gleaned some expertise on shooting lanes from teammate Andrei Markov, a two-time All-Star defenseman.

“His deception with the puck was great,” said Petry, who was Markov’s teammate for parts of three seasons. “You didn’t know if he was hitting the seam (pass) or if he was putting the puck to the net. He was a guy that I watched. He was on that first power-play unit with (defenseman P.K.) Subban on the one-timer. Just watching him, the way he walked the line, he looked like he was shooting, but then he would kick it out. Then he would look like he was passing then snap it to the net.”

Identifying or creating shooting lanes — which have shorter lifespans than hiccups — and knowing when to pull the trigger are attributes that aren’t necessarily something that can be taught as a fundamental. It’s more of an instinct, at least by Petry’s estimation.

“You just have to kind of read the play,” he said. “It’s that shoot-first mindset. When it’s there, it closes quickly. So if you’re thinking pass and the pass isn’t there and you decide to shoot, there’s going to be bodies in the lane. You have to look to shoot first and, obviously, know what your other options are, as well.”

Petry might just be the Penguins’ best option when it comes to fully utilizing shooting lanes.

“There’s recognition and awareness skills then there’s the execution skills, the physical skills to actually get pucks through,” Sullivan said. “They’re a vitally important skill for today’s defensemen.”

Note: According to Cap Friendly, Penguins forward Josh Archibald was transferred from regular injured reserve to long-term injured reserve. He has missed the past 16 games due to an undisclosed ailment. … The Penguins had a scheduled day off Monday.

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