CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jake Guentzel has answered a lot of questions since he broke into the NHL during the 2016-17 season.
Nonetheless, at least one intriguing one remains: Is he capable of being a 50-goal man someday?
Guentzel is coming off a 40-goal season, which isn't close to serious flirtation with 50, but it's worth noting that only six of those goals came on the power play. That's significant because of the 11 times an NHL player has scored 50 or more goals during the past 10 seasons, none ever got fewer than 12 with the man-advantage.
If Guentzel is chosen to fill Phil Kessel's old spot on the No. 1 power-play unit, his output when the Penguins have an extra man could spike, pushing him closer to 50. Whether he'll audition for that role isn't clear, for a couple of reasons: The Penguins haven't done any special-teams work yet, and there's no shortage of qualified candidates for the niche Kessel filled on the left side.
"We have so many guys who can go in his spot," Guentzel said. "You never know what they're going to do. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of different options, a lot of guys going in and out."
At the same time, should the coaching staff come up with a right winger whose game meshes well with those of Guentzel and Sidney Crosby, his five-on-five goals total could get a bump, too.
Add those to a potential increase in power-play goals and suddenly, 50 might not be so far away. Not that Guentzel is inclined to dabble in such big-picture projections.
"I just have to start with getting No. 1," he said. "And then go from there."
Guentzel has established himself as one of the Penguins' most important players, in part because his talents have dovetailed nicely with Crosby's. Over the years, quite a few wingers -- including some fairly gifted ones -- have been unable to develop the kind of chemistry with Crosby that would allow them to take full advantage of his abilities.
That hasn't been a problem for Guentzel.
"I just try to read off of him as much as I can, and just try to get open as much as I can," he said. "When you're playing with a player like that, he can find you anywhere, so you have to be ready at all times."
Mike Sullivan credits some of Guentzel's intangibles with making it possible for him to jell with Crosby.
"It starts with his hockey sense and his competitiveness," Sullivan said. "He thinks the game at a real high level, and he's brave. He's willing to go to the battle areas of the rink, and that's where Sid excels. They've had an instant chemistry since we put them together.
"He's not an imposing presence, physically. He doesn't have blazing speed. He just knows how to play hockey."
Although Guentzel has settled in quite nicely alongside Crosby, he remembers what it was like when they were paired initially.
"It's pretty nerve-wracking, the first time you're playing with him," he said. "You don't want to mess it up."
He didn't, and there's no reason to think Guentzel has come close to peaking, even if he's reluctant to set statistical objectives.
"I just try to play out it and see what happens," he said. "I'm just trying to be the best player I can be."
Also today:
• Patric Hornqvist scored two goals as Team 3 defeated Team 1, 4-1, in the daily scrimmage. Oula Palve and Dominik Simon also scored for Team 3, while Anthony Angello got the Team 1 goal.
• Defenseman Erik Gudbranson played well on the third pairing after being acquired from Vancouver at the trade deadline last season, and Sullivan suggested that the Penguins might expect even more from him in 2019-20. "He's more familiar with our team," he said. "He's more familiar with his teammates, the coaching staff, with how we're trying to play. I would think that all of those things help a player. We really like what he's brought to our team since he's been here."
• Here are the personnel combinations from today's scrimmage and practice:
TEAM 1
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Dominik Kahun
Samuel Poulin-Sam Lafferty-Zach Aston-Reese
Sam Miletic-Chase Berger-Anthony Angello
David Warsofsky-Kris Letang
Jack Johnson-John Marino
Pierre-Olivier Joseph-Chad Ruhwedel
TEAM 2
Alex Galchenyuk–Evgeni Malkin–Brandon Tanev
Adam Johnson–Teddy Blueger–Bryan Rust
Joseph Cramrossa–Joe Blandisi–Ryan Haggerty
Jake Lucchini-Jordy Bellerive-Jan Drozg
Brian Dumoulin–Calen Addison
Matt Abt–Jon Lizotte
Kevin Czuczman–Erik Gudbranson.
TEAM 3
Jared McCann-Nick Bjugstad-Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Simon-Andrew Aggozino-Nathan Legare/Ben Sexton
Thomas DiPauli-Oula Palve-Kasper Bjorkqvist
Marcus Pettersson-Justin Schultz
Zach Trotman-Jusso Riikola
Michael Kim-Niclas Almari
• This is supposed to be the Penguins' final day with three practice groups; the plan is to have two, beginning tomorrow, which means a round of cuts is likely in the next day or two. It figures to consist primarily of players being returned to their junior teams, although it's possible that some will be sent to the training camp of the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre.
• The Penguins will play their preseason opener Monday at 7 p.m. against Buffalo at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa. The squad that will face the Sabres will have a game-day skate in Cranberry before traveling to Penn State.