Guentzel stepping up again for Penguins in playoffs

PHILADELPHIA -- Jake Guentzel better get used to wearing the playoff guy label.
The 23-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins forward has certainly earned it.
"He's one of those guys that has it," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He has the ability to play his best when the stakes are the highest."

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He did it again Sunday, delivering another big performance as the Penguins eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers with an 8-5 win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Wells Fargo Center.
Guentzel scored four consecutive goals in a span of 13:52 in the second and third periods. They were the tying, go-ahead, game-winning, and unofficial backbreaker goals.
He also had an assist on forward Patric Hornqvist's goal in the second period for his first five-point game in his NHL career.
"The fact that Jake scored four goals, it actually didn't even dawn on me until very, very late in the game," Sullivan said. "We just had that next shift attitude on the bench, but certainly now that the game is over and you reflect on it, you say, 'Wow, what an accomplishment.'"

Guentzel had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) against the Flyers, which is tied with Sidney Crosby for the team and NHL lead, and has 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists) in 31 career games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or 1.10 points per game.
In the regular season, he averages 0.664 points per game with 81 points (38 goals, 43 assists) in 122 games.
"This is what you want to play in," Guentzel said. "You grow up dreaming about this. It's fun."
The Penguins have a lot of players that raise their level of play when the stakes are high, which is why they've won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and are now one of seven teams in NHL history to win at least nine straight playoff series in consecutive seasons.
But Guentzel doesn't carry the star power of a Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel or Kris Letang, which makes what he's done even more surprising, even if the sample size is large enough now that it shouldn't be.
His 19 goals are the most by anyone in the playoffs in the past two seasons, and his 34 points trail only Crosby's 40.
"Every night you've got to be ready to compete on every part of the ice, and he's willing to do that," Crosby said. "On top of that, he's got great hockey sense and he can shoot the puck and score from different areas."
Guentzel's first goal came at 19:06 of the second period to tie it 4-4, scoring on a deflection of defenseman Olli Maatta's initial shot from the point. The puck hit the left post, ricocheted off Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth and into the net.
"That means he's going hard to the [net]," Crosby said.
Guentzel gave the Penguins a 5-4 lead 30 seconds into the third period, scoring from in front off a 2-on-1 with Kessel.
"You're just trying to do whatever you can to help the team win now," Guentzel said. "When the bounces are going your way, you just try to run with it."

The bounce came his way for his third goal. After Letang won a battle along the left boards, the puck came to Guentzel in the high slot, and he beat Neuvirth with a slap shot glove side to make it 6-4 at 12:48.
"He's super quiet, but with a lot of skill," Hornqvist said. "The way he works every single day, that's why he is where he is. He always works on stuff around the net. He's never panicking."
Guentzel scored his fourth 10 seconds later on a 2-on-1 with Hornqvist, who passed cross-crease to Guentzel for the tap in to extend the lead to 7-4.
"You're just thinking, 'No way this can happen,'" Guentzel said. "Once you see it in, you're in a blur at that point because the two came back to back like that."
Crosby said Guentzel didn't just wow with his goals Sunday.
"He was all over the ice," Crosby said.
What impresses him the most about Guentzel in the playoffs?
"The consistency," Crosby said. "There's so many things that happen over the course of a playoff series, the matchups and the roller coaster that it is. To maintain that consistency is really tough, and he's been able to do that."
But at times, Guentzel hasn't had the same level of consistency in the regular season.
He had one point, a goal, in the Penguins final five games this season, and had five points in a 23-game stretch from Dec. 7-Jan. 30 before scoring 13 points in the next 12 games. He had five points in the first five games of the season, and two in the next 10.
"Now, in the playoffs, there's a lot of things on the line and he just raises his game," Hornqvist said.
Playoff guys usually do.
They don't usually score four consecutive goals in a series-clinching game, though.
"I don't know how to explain it," Sullivan said. "I just think Jake is a terrific player."