Ever since Jake Guentzel broke into the NHL, all he has done is score big goals in the big moments. From the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Stanley Cup Final and every game in between. Some have labelled him “Big Game Jake.”: That moniker has carried over into the Four Nations Faceoff.
There is something about the big moments where Guentzel takes his game to another level. Through three games in the tournament, he has four points (three goals and one assist). He sits tied for second on the team in points with Jack Eichel, who also has five points. However, his three goals are tied with Nathan MacKinnon of Canada for the tournament lead as he leads Team USA in goals.
And let’s be honest, he probably should have close to six or seven goals. Guentzel has been on fire since the tournament started, and in the first matchup against Canada, he scored the game-tying goal and game-clinching goal. But he had multiple opportunities to score even more.
“I think his whole career, he scored those big goals,” Brady Tkachuk said on Saturday following the Team USA 3-1 victory over Canada. “And, I mean, for his first one, that was a big goal just to tie it up. And then, I mean, he just so steady out there. He’s played in all these big games. So he’s so confident, so composed. And I know that for me, just to be able to watch that and see the composure, I’ve learned a lot from him. That was well deserved. He came up big in the big moment again.”
As Brady Tkachuk said, this is nothing new for Jake Guentzel. He has been doing it his whole career. From his rookie year with the Pittsburgh Penguins to his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning and his short stint with the Carolina Hurricanes, Guentzel loves the spotlight.
Tkachuk was not the only opponent over the years who loved what Guentzel brought to the table. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who is tied for the tournament lead with five points, saw it firsthand, not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs when he played against Guentzel when he was on the Penguins. He has also gained a greater respect for what he can do at this stage.
“It’s incredible. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for him playing against him. But I think when you see it firsthand, you can see his experience in the Stanley Cups and the playoffs and just the way he plays the game,” Werenski said. “So I think seeing it firsthand, being on the same team as him, you have a whole new respect for it, but definitely a player that you can tell is a big game player and shows up in these tournaments, and we’re happy to have on our team.”
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Both Mike Sullivan and Jon Cooper had a first-hand look at what Guentzel could do on the big stage. And he delivered when the USA needed him most. After Charlie McAvoy delivered a big hit on Connor McDavid, Guentzel tied the game up on a goal that Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington would like back.
However, Cooper noted that Saturday night, everyone knew that shot was coming because the puck finds its way into the net for good players like Jake.
“Jake Guentzel plays for me. I’ve seen that goal 1000 times, and Jake Guentzel still finds a way to score those goals. Pucks have eyes for some players. It has eyes for him,” Cooper said on Saturday night.
So it is not shocking to hear from his former coach in Pittsburgh that when the lights are the brightest, Guentzel steps up and delivers.
“I’m not surprised at all. I watched it firsthand for a lot of years,” Sullivan said on Saturday. “Jake’s a high skates player and plays his very best when it means the most, and I think there’s a stage big enough for him. I just think he thrives in these types of environments.”
With Team USA taking on Canada in the Championship Game on Thursday for the Four Nations Cup, everyone expects Guentzel to have another big game. There is something about these winner-take-all games where Jake Guentzel delivers his best moments of the season.
