Jake Guentzel is one of the more talented goal scoring wingers in the league and he’s on a heater. He scored another three goals last night earning his fourth career hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks. The career 16.0% shooter has ten goals in his last 11 games. He is on a 12-game point streak, which is longest this year by an NHL player. He has 16 points during the streak. In his last 16 games he has 12 goals and 20 points.
Two of the goals came with the 5v3 advantage. So many teams waste a lot of time passing around the perimeter for 20 seconds before they even look to get a shot on goal. In actuality teams should be having themselves a shot volume fest. Win the rebounds and the faceoffs over and over again if you have to. That’s why having a two-man advantage is so advantageous. Even if the puck gets iced down shouldn’t Tristan Jarry’s puck playing abilities facilitate a quick breakout? Guentzel has the ability to rip a one timer from the circle or be crafty around the net. Get him the puck and let him do his goal scoring thing. His skill palate has everything you need to score goals.
Sidney Crosby also got in on the action with a goal and two assists. He’s starting to gain traction on point production after a slow start coming back from injury. He’s on a six-game point streak where he has two goals and and nine points. I have a feeling the days of Crosby attacking defenders in open space on a frequent basis are potentially over, but he is transitioning towards being effective in different ways. Think of a quicker stronger Joe Thornton type who will shoot more often and as a result score goals more often than Jumbo Joe. I would rather be wrong in this assessment because Sid was electric with his speed and tenacity throughout his career. Maybe I’m overreacting to a player coming back from wrist surgery and a symptomatic case of COVID.
I was giving Kris Letang a hard time at the beginning of the season because, well, he deserved it. His first ten games of the season his xGF% average was 42.66. Since then?
His most recent ten games he is averaging an xGF% of 60.8. A great turnaround. The counting stats have been there the entire year. Lately, he has 5 points in the last three games, including the three helpers he had last night. This is very encouraging. Heading down the path of the first ten games would have put the Penguins in a pretty bad spot re: contract extension. This is something we’ll need to continue to track, but if he has turned the corner it would be a great thing.
Up next is a first for the Penguins. They will take on Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev, and the rest of the Seattle Kraken. Untili then keep enjoying the 1/2 off milkshakes.
Thanks for reading!
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