For the first time in nearly a year, Jake Guentzel had a familiar sound in Mike Sullivan's voice behind him on the bench in a real game as Team USA beat Finland 6-1 in their Four Nations Face-Off opener.
Guentzel broke into a smile when I asked him afterward about the reunion.
"Yeah, it's great," Guentzel said. "I mean, he's done a lot for me in my career, so I was really familiar with all the systems and stuff like that. It's nice.
Sullivan put Guentzel into a prominent role, skating on the left side of the top line next to Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes. The trio combined for a goal in the third period -- Matthews recovered the puck after a Finland turnover, and he and Hughes passed the puck to each other as they skated into Finland's end. Matthews found Guentzel at the left circle, and Guentzel wired a snap shot past Juuse Saros:
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
6:18 am - 02.14.2025MontrealGuentzel: Sullivan reunion 'great'
For the first time in nearly a year, Jake Guentzel had a familiar sound in Mike Sullivan's voice behind him on the bench in a real game as Team USA beat Finland 6-1 in their Four Nations Face-Off opener.
Guentzel broke into a smile when I asked him afterward about the reunion.
"Yeah, it's great," Guentzel said. "I mean, he's done a lot for me in my career, so I was really familiar with all the systems and stuff like that. It's nice.
Sullivan put Guentzel into a prominent role, skating on the left side of the top line next to Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes. The trio combined for a goal in the third period -- Matthews recovered the puck after a Finland turnover, and he and Hughes passed the puck to each other as they skated into Finland's end. Matthews found Guentzel at the left circle, and Guentzel wired a snap shot past Juuse Saros:
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