There are but two things in this world that are not exactly alike: Snowflakes and Jake Guentzel's goals. Or so it seems lately.
This season, his third in the NHL, he's taken his game to heights surely unimagined when the Penguins selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. In what's already been a remarkable career punctuated by outlandish postseason success, Guentzel has now proven himself to be a consistent scorer over the course of the 82-game grind.
In Tuesday night's very necessary 3-2 overtime win over the Panthers, Guentzel padded his already career-high numbers by tacking on goals Nos. 32 and 33, including the game-winner. What was unique about Guentzel's performance wasn't that he scored, he's done plenty of that lately, but it's the way in which he did it. Tuesday night just continued a trend of Guentzel scoring in new and inventive ways.
Just 16 seconds into the second period of what had been a 1-0 Panthers lead, Sidney Crosby forced a Mike Matheson turnover in the high slot that Jared McCann knocked over to Guentzel. With his lightning quick release, Guentzel fired a 26-foot wrist shot that beat Roberto Luongo under his catching glove:
But, really, the goal may not have been possible had Guentzel not been playing the right wing. Tuesday was the second game that the left-handed shooting Guentzel was playing his off-side after Mike Sullivan promoted McCann to the top line Saturday night against the Canadiens in Montreal. By swooping down the right side, Guentzel had a better angle on Luongo.
"Coming down the wall, your stick is in the middle of the ice and you can open up for one-timers a little more," Guentzel was telling me Monday about the advantages of playing on his right side. "You're just using your stick in the middle of the ice more."
Needless to say, Sullivan's lineup tweak has paid off handsomely so far. McCann was inserted on the top line to give it more speed with Bryan Rust out of the lineup. Certainly it's done that but, more importantly, it's been highly productive. Over the last two games, the trio has combined for a staggering 16 points in all situations.
That also included Guentzel's game-winner Tuesday in the 3-on-3 overtime, which, for once, didn't seem such a bugaboo for the Penguins. Guentzel's second goal, arguably the biggest of the season, came with 2:16 left in OT. At his own blueline, Guentzel knocked the puck off Matheson's stick back to Crosby. As only he can, Crosby lobbed the puck into center ice that Guentzel was able to skate under at full speed for a breakaway:
With Matheson giving futile chase with a few hooks, Guentzel had little time to think things through, but he opted to go to his backhand, beating Luongo just inside the right post.
"Coming at speed, you're just trying to get it on net," said Guentzel, who had been robbed by Luongo's left pad with a little over five minutes remaining in the third period. "Must've got him on the fake, and got him on the backhand."
That goal was remarkable on many levels from start to finish, but it best explains the unique chemistry that Crosby and Guentzel have developed since the dizzying 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the then-rookie Guentzel scored 13 goals in 25 playoffs games.
Crosby explained that there wasn't any verbal communication between the two on the winning goal but just an understanding of what he might do:
"I think it's just feel," Crosby was telling me late Tuesday night. "He kind of peeked at me and saw that when I didn't give it to him, when he looked at me, he probably thought he's coming in a different way. However, you got to get it to him. But he's still got to finish the play on a breakaway with a guy all over him, which is pretty amazing."
Indeed, it was.
If you're counting, that was just the third goal that Guentzel has scored on his backhand this season. The wrist shot has been his weapon of choice, accounting for 14 of his 33 goals, followed by nine snap shots, six tip-ins and one wraparound.
Tuesday marked the second time in his career that Guentzel scored multiple-goals in consecutive regular-season games. He last did it Jan. 11 and 12, when he scored five goals against the Kings and Ducks in SoCal. But think back to Saturday night's game in Montreal when he scored off a set play off of Crosby's faceoff win. That was a type of goal that Guentzel had never scored before. It was the result, he said, of working tirelessly over the summer on his shot and on tips. With his growing reputation, he knew that the league was going to defend him differently.
"If you want to be successful, you have to adjust to be able to score different ways," Guentzel was telling me Monday. "Just shooting and tips and finding different releases from different areas. That's the big thing. Goalies are so good now. It's been a big thing for me."
Below, is a heat map courtesy of icydata.hockey that shows Guentzel's scoring locations this season:
You'll notice that Guentzel, though slight in build, isn't reluctant to go to the net. Along with his hockey IQ, it's his fearlessness that Sullivan raves about.
"His consistency is the biggest thing," the coach was saying. "I give Jake, himself, a lot of credit for that because he's taken care of himself. He's doing the things off the ice that give him the opportunity to be successful on the ice. He's living the right way. He's training the right way. He's eating the right way. He's getting proper rest. He hydrates. He's controlling all the controllables. And when you do that as a pro, you give yourself the best chance to be successful."
It's why the Penguins invested a five-year, $30 million contract extension in Guentzel two days after Christmas. And it's why Jim Rutherford believes that Guentzel can be even better.
Crosby says he's seen the progression, the maturation in Guentzel's goal-scoring ability this season.
"His shot stands out the most," Crosby said. "He knows where to go and when he gets it, he gets it off quick. I think he's accurate, but he scores different ways. The shot comes to mind, but he scores in and around the net, deflections. He's not afraid to go to the tough areas to score, so he can do it a lot of different ways and that's why he's scored so many."
While many are pondering whether this is Crosby's best season, it should be noted that he's received a fairly big assist from his linemate. The two have been pushing each other and seemingly carrying the Penguins back into the playoffs.
Ah, yes, the postseason. That's Guentzel's bread and butter. If the last two games -- de facto playoff games -- are any indication, Guentzel is only getting warmed up.
"When he gets hot it's a matter of finding the net," Crosby said. "He's confident in his shot. He knows when to be patient and when to shoot it. You can tell right now that he's really poised with it and he's finding different ways to score. The way he came (into the NHL) and what he's done right away, I don't know that I'm necessarily surprised by that."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Panthers, PPG Paints Arena, March 6, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS