The forward paced the Lightning's offense in Game 3, scoring a goal and adding a pair of assists.
Jake Guentzel is fresh off his first regular season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a campaign that ended as one of the best in franchise history by a player in their first season with the team.
Only three games into his first playoff run with the Lightning, the 30-year-old forward continues to produce. As he has for his entire career, Guentzel is once again showing his extra postseason gear which was part of the reason Tampa Bay was eager to sign him to a seven-year contract last summer.
Guentzel finished with a goal and two assists in the team’s 5-1 Game 3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday, earning the primary assist on the game-tying goal late in the first period before also flashing his hockey senses to score the 3-1 goal that added a cushion for Tampa Bay 21 seconds into the third period.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper commended Guentzel’s hockey IQ and ferocity during his postgame media scrum on Saturday.
“He’s a big-time player. You don’t have to be 6-foot-4 and 220 (lbs.) to be a star player in this league, and he proves it,” Cooper said of Guentzel. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the size of your physical stature, but it’s the way you think the game and the size of your heart. It can take you a long way.”
Guentzel has continuously played his best hockey when it matters most across his NHL career. He scored 13 goals during his first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience as a rookie in 2017, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
Guentzel now has 40 goals across 72 career playoff games, an average of 0.56 goals per game. That ties him with Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl for the seventh-highest goals-per-game average in NHL history, trailing only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (0.57) and five Hockey Hall of Famers.
Mario Lemieux tops the list, as he averaged 0.71 goals per game across his 107 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Guentzel’s goal on Saturday was his 40th career playoff goal, third-most among active U.S.-born players in the NHL behind only Patrick Kane (51) and Chris Kreider (48).
“He’s a gamer,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said of Guentzel. “We’ve obviously played against him a bunch and seen it in the postseason as well when we played against him. He rises to the occasion in the big games, and yesterday was just another example of what he can do…He’s been a huge addition for us and a tremendous guy to be around and an absolute gamer on the ice.”
Guentzel slipped the puck through Florida’s Sam Reinhart in the high slot late in the first period on Saturday before firing a shot on net. The puck hit Brayden Point before beating Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game with 2:45 remaining in the period.
Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli on Sunday also used the word “gamer” to describe Guentzel.
“Just the way he plays and his willingness to do whatever it takes. It seems like the bigger the game, the better he plays,” Cirelli said.
Cirelli also noted Guentzel’s ability to find open ice, just as the latter did for the 3-1 goal on Saturday.
Guentzel snuck to the left post to bury a backhand pass from Nikita Kucherov 21 seconds into the third period, providing some breathing room for the Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena during 4-on-4 hockey.
“He’s just so good at finding those areas and he’s a guy that goes to the net, he’s in the right spots. He’s a gamer. He’s been there, he’s done that,” Cirelli said. "He knows what it takes, and he does it just shift after shift.”
Guentzel co-leads the Lightning in playoff scoring (Kucherov) this season with four points, and his 11 shots on goal also lead the team.
With Tampa Bay aiming to even their First Round series on Monday, Guentzel remains central to the push. That bodes well for the team during Guentzel’s favorite time of the year.
“There’s really nothing better than the Stanley Cup Playoffs and being able to play in them,” Guentzel said. “You can’t take it for granted, and I think if you don’t get up for these games there’s something wrong with you.”
“It’s just the best time of year to play.”
Lightning bring restored belief to Game 4 vs. Panthers
Suddenly, the Tampa Bay Lightning are feeling more alive.
Make no mistake -- the Florida Panthers still lead this Eastern Conference first-round series 2-1. And the Panthers -- the reigning Stanley Cup champions -- will be at home for Game 4 on Monday night in Sunrise, Fla. But no team has yet to win a home game in this best-of-seven series.
And Tampa Bay's 5-1 win in Sunrise, Fla., on Saturday afternoon has given the Lightning a spark. Prior to Saturday's win, the Lightning had lost seven of their last eight playoff games.
All of a sudden -- after that one win -- the Lightning have a new attitude.
"It was a huge win for our team," Lightning forward Jake Guentzel said. "It gives us some confidence and some life in this series.
"But it's only one game. We have to be ready for the next one."
The Lightning never led in the first two games of this series. They fell behind again on Saturday and didn't take their first lead until Nick Paul scored at 13:17 of the second period.
"Getting the lead is huge," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We were down 1-0 (on Saturday), and (Florida's) building was buzzing.
"I think the mental strength of our team. ... We eventually tied it, and then we pierced that bubble, finally had the lead."
Indeed, after scoring a total of two goals in the first two games, the Lightning suddenly have some hot players. Nikita Kucherov, for example, had three assists on Saturday and Guentzel had one goal and two assists.
Kucherov has registered at least three assists in 11 career playoff games. Only Wayne Gretzky (28 times) and Mark Messier (12) have had more. Paul Coffey and Doug Gilmour match Kucherov's 11 games.
Meanwhile, the Panthers won't panic after just one loss. That's the main message from captain Aleksander Barkov.
"We will learn a lot from (Saturday's) game," Barkov said. "We had a great start (on Saturday) and did the right things.
"But (the Lightning) are a great team. They played really well. ... All we can take from this is to learn."
The Panthers managed only Matthew Tkachuk's goal in Saturday's first period. But this is a dangerous team capable of much more.
During the regular season, Sam Reinhart led Florida in goals (39) and points (81). He also led the team in power-play goals (13) and short-handed scores (five). Barkov led the team in assists (51) and power-play assists (19). Tkachuk missed 30 games due to injuries, but still finished with 22 goals and 35 assists.
Sam Bennett (25) and Carter Verhaeghe (20) also joined Reinhart, Barkov and Tkachuk in Florida's 20-goal club.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he liked how his team started on Saturday, but nothing much went right for Florida in the final two periods.
"I thought we stopped moving the puck the way we can," Maurice said. "I don't think we were great. But, offensively, I think we generated more on Saturday than in either of the first two games.
"We have lots of room to get better. ... This is going to be a grinder of a series."
Further, the Panthers reportedly learned Sunday that Tkachuk will not be suspended for his hit on Guentzel on Saturday.
Citing sources, ESPN reported that the NHL's Department of Player Safety based its decision in part on Guentzel having recently touched the puck, and that Tkachuk's hit was not to the head.
