A huge positive this year has been the emergence of Jake Guentzel. His initial time with the big club this year was very positive. He was sent back down to give him more ice time, specifically of the top six variety. Now he's back and has looked excellent on Evgeni Malkin's left wing. He's not going anywhere now. This is a great development and one that could impact one of the potential trade rumors that has surfaced with the Penguins.
It was rumored last week that Pittsburgh was interested in Avalanche left winger Gabriel Landeskog. He's a fine player and I have little doubt he would be successful in Pittsburgh. However, with Guentzel tracking towards being a productive top six winger on an ELC and Conor Sheary playing the part with Sidney Crosby there really isn't a reason to give up assets and add salary for a luxury item. If I'm the Penguins and their interest in Landeskog was legit I'm pumping the brakes on that idea.
Sheary is in the 85th percentile in 5v5 offense and the 90th percentile in possession during his NHL career.
Having Sidney Crosby as a linemate for a good chunk of that certainly helps, but Sheary hasn't drowned and looks the part of a player that can not only be boosted by Crosby but help him as well.
Pittsburgh has a good thing going on with Sheary, Guentzel, Hagelin, and Kunitz on the left wing. Not to mention Scott Wilson and Tom Kuhnhackl are other depth options for that position. Left Wing was a question mark heading into the season and the play of Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel has turned it more into an exclamation point.
****
Well that was a breeze. The Pittsburgh Penguins throttled the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 7-1. It was another high event game for the Penguins and another victory. Both teams combined for 108 shot attempts at even-strength splitting them 54 apiece. The problem with trading shots with the Penguins is that you either better have better scoring depth or have the better goalie. The Hurricanes had neither and were blown out.
On the Carolina broadcast they spoke about how Matt Murray reminds them of when Cam Ward came up and won a Cup in his first year in the NHL. Let's hope the comparison ends there. Cam Ward allowed seven goals last night. One for every below average season he's had in the NHL. He was so flustered he decided to give Patric Hornqvist a blocker sandwich because he was unsuccessful in covering a loose puck.
Evgeni Malkin extended his point streak to six games and now has 52 points on the year. His feed to Phil Kessel on the power play was the nicest goal of the game.
Want to feel happy? Watch @PKessel81's power-play goal again. pic.twitter.com/wR5qDwIraJ
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 21, 2017
That's the stuff.
Sidney Crosby earned a nice primary assist on the game's final goal
"Is that fair?"
— NHL (@NHL) January 21, 2017
Not really. pic.twitter.com/BnupmcZyKw
If there was a negative to take from the game it was the fact Scott Wilson had to leave due to injury. A Hurricane player whiffed on an open ice hit and accidently ran into Wilson. In an attempt to break his fall Scott Wilson looked as though the way he braced himself caused the injury. The fourth line had been playing really well giving the Penguins scoring prowess on all four lines. Look for Tom Kuhnhackl to get the call tomorrow a day after his 25th birthday.
Tomorrow the Penguins will face the Boston Bruins at home for an afternoon contest at 3PM. This will be a nice lead in to the other Pittsburgh/Boston matchup that will go down at Gillette Stadium for the AFC Championship.
NEW PODCAST: #Bruins & #Kings, a goalie 3way discussion and your questions answered: https://t.co/5LexDQF1hk #NHL #Pens
— Hockey Hurts (@Hockey_Hurts) January 20, 2017
Thanks for reading!