NEW YORK — Before his hockey career truly took root, when Jake Guentzel was just a kid growing up in Minnesota and trying to stay busy, baseball and soccer occupied as much of his time as anything.
You could tell after watching the magnificent goal Guentzel scored midway through the second period on Sunday during Game 7 of the Penguins’ first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Bryan Rust tried to slide a pass to Guentzel in the slot. It appeared to click off Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s stick. Guentzel played the puck with his foot and kicked it up to his stick, which he used to backhand the puck past goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Although the Penguins again had trouble holding the lead and fell in overtime, 4-3, what Guentzel did stood out for few reasons. The gorgeous goal, sure, but more a series-long statement from the 27-year-old Guentzel, who last May was critical of his game and lack of production in recent postseasons.
Guentzel said a year ago he let a lot of people down. Far from it this time around.
“He’s incredible,” Tristan Jarry said. “Just the way he finds the net and scores, he’s a machine. He was carrying a big burden coming into the postseason, and he was someone who led the team.”
After a three-year stretch where Guentzel scored just three goals in 14 postseason games, he erupted for a total of eight in the Penguins’ seven-game series. Nobody in the entire NHL had more.
The level of finish in Guentzel’s game was reminiscent from how he looked during the first two years of his career, when Guentzel piled up 23 goals in 37 playoff games from 2016-18.
Guentzel’s downturn was partially attributable to undergoing shoulder surgery in December 2019, the result of an awkward fall into the boards after notching his 20th goal of the 2019-20 season, but it was also a little mystifying.
Guentzel still went to the net. He still used his sizable hockey IQ. He didn’t forget how to shoot.
With the shoulder fully healed, much was made in this series about the return of “Playoff Jake.” How Guentzel scored twice to open the series and continued to do what he’s done much for much of his career — going to the net, thinking the game alongside Sidney Crosby and finding a way to finish.
The result was an obvious maturity in Guentzel, who no longer is just a happy-go-lucky kid. He’s very much in leadership and organizational mainstay territory.
“I thought he was terrific,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought he was terrific every game. He’s just such a competitive player. He’s a high-stakes player. He thrives in these environments. He’s a threat all the time, and he loves to compete. I thought he was terrific the whole series.”
The return of Playoff Jake is obviously important for multiple reasons, not the least of which involves the large changes looming this offseason.
No matter what happens with Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang or others, the Penguins know that Guentzel will return, next to Crosby, and should make a run at a 40-goal season.
It’s a comfortability neither Guentzel nor the Penguins take for granted, though it’s obviously something both parties enjoy. Not that Guentzel is counting goals or thinking about his own game much right now.
“You want to win more,” Guentzel said. “That’s just what it’s about — winning. The individual stuff, yeah, it’s nice. But I think the biggest thing is you want to win games. You want to win series. You want to make runs with guys and make memories. I don’t really think the individual stuff matters.”
As pretty as Guentzel’s goal might have been, it wasn’t the only one worth watching on repeat.
Evan Rodrigues scored an absolutely brilliant goal at 17:24 of the second period to give the Penguins another lead — this one pushing them in front, 3-2 — by fending off Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller and pushing a one-handed backhand past Shesterkin.
The goal was actually part of a pretty good night for the Penguins penalty kill, which had killed just 10 of its first 15 power plays coming into Sunday’s game. Furthermore, Pittsburgh had not have a short-handed goal before Rodrigues beat Shesterkin.
Rodrigues’ goal also looked for a time to be a fitting bounce-back after his retaliatory penalty in Game 6 opened the door for the Rangers’ power play.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: May 16, 2022, 3:28 a.m.