Guentzel has hat trick, assist for Penguins in victory against Canucks

VANCOUVER -- Jake Guentzel had a hat trick and an assist to extend his NHL career-best point streak to 12 games and help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

Guentzel has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) during the longest active streak in the NHL, and the third longest this season behind Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (17 games) and Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks (16 games).
"Bounces are going my way right now," Guentzel said. "You go through stretches where you don't get these bounces and for me, I'm just trying to shoot the puck as much as I can, and if it goes in or creates rebounds I'm just trying to be around the net and shoot as much as I can, and you never know what happens."
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists, Kris Letang had three assists, and Tristan Jarry made 22 saves for the Penguins (11-8-5), who won for the first time in four games (1-2-1).
"I just think he has a certain hockey IQ," coach Mike Sullivan said of Guentzel. "He has a unique ability to find the soft spots, and when he plays with a guy like Sid, he usually gets the puck. But he gets there at the right time and I think that's the genius of Jake's game, and I also think that's why Jake and Sid have been so complimentary in all the time they've been playing together. They think the game on a similar level, which is an elite level."
Vasily Podkolzin scored, and Thatcher Demko made 40 saves for the Canucks (8-15-2), who were trying to win three in a row for the first time this season. They are 3-9-1 in the past 13 games.
"When you lose, it's hard," coach Travis Green said. "Fans get frustrated. We get frustrated too. Our players, they're mad when they lose, coaches are upset when they lose as well."
Guentzel put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 2:19 into the second period with a one-timer from the right face-off dot that deflected in off Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Podkolzin tied it 1-1 with a deflection that bounced off and over Jarry at 6:18, but the Canucks were undone by five straight penalties.
"Obviously we ran into some penalty trouble there in the second," forward Bo Horvat said. "And it's tough to play catch-up against that team."
Guentzel completed his fourth NHL hat trick by scoring two 5-on-3 power-play goals 1:10 apart. He made it 2-1 with a one-timer at 17:13 from the same spot as his first goal and put the Penguins ahead 3-1 with a screened wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle that deflected in off the backside of Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn at 18:23.
Guentzel has at least one point in all 11 road games this season (10 goals, six assists), tying the Penguins record set by Evgeni Malkin in 2008-09.
"For some reason I like playing on the road," Guentzel said. "It's just a good challenge and obviously some lucky ones, so take them as they come."

Guentzel also has 19 points (12 goals, seven assists) during a 10-game point streak against Vancouver, his longest against any opponent. It was his third four-point game in the NHL, and his last one also came against the Canucks on Nov. 27, 2019.
"I wish I knew [why]," Guentzel said. "I think it's just a fun building to play in, so I think you get excited to come here and play, and just a great city overall."
Pittsburgh finished 2-for-6 on the power play and is 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) over the past 10 games after starting the season 4-for-46 (8.7 percent) in the first 14 games.
"We put the puck deep and tried to grind them down and got power plays out of it," Letang said. "The key was to make sure our power play gave us momentum."
Crosby converted a cross-ice pass from Letang at 11:15 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
"The only way to get past this is to get through it," Canucks forward Tyler Motte said. "We've got to continue to look ourselves in the mirror and find a way to be better because we owe it to more people than ourselves."
NOTES:Guentzel also has two hat tricks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a four-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference First Round on April 22, 2018. … It was the third hat trick by a Penguins player in Vancouver and first since Mario Lemieux on Jan. 23, 1987. Pierre Larouche also scored three goals on Feb. 8, 1976. … Jarry was playing his first NHL game in Vancouver. He was born in Surrey, British Columbia, 21 miles from Vancouver.