Penguins Jake Guentzel Now a 30-Goal Scorer

Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel can now boast he is 30 goal scorer in the NHL.  The Omaha, NE native took a pass off the faceoff from Sidney Crosby and snapped a shot through the five-hole of Montreal goaltender Carey Price. This is the first time Guentzel has scored 30 goals in his hockey career.

Guentzel had two goals on Saturday night and four points.

Guentzel’s previous NHL high was 22 goals, set last season. The closest he came to 30 goals was way back in 2012-13 with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL.

The 24-year-old continues to be a force for the Penguins after a successful career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he amassed 119 points in 108 games. Guentzel joined the Penguins as the 77th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Guentzel made his NHL debut on November 21, 2016, against the New York Rangers, where he scored two goals on his first two shots. The Penguins, however, wasted the effort and lost the game 5–2.

Guentzel comes from a hockey family. His father, Mike, was a standout player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Mike Guentzel was the associate head coach at the University of Minnesota till he moved on to the Arizona Coyotes in 2018. Jake was a stick boy for the team when current Penguins teammate Phil Kessel played for Minnesota in 2005.

Guentzel was a huge part of the Penguins Stanley Cup team in 2017. Despite starting the season in the AHL, Guentzel recorded 21 points during the run. The effort tied Dino Ciccarelli and Ville Leino for points by a rookie in a single post-season.

Guentzel also added his 31st goal at the 13:36 mark of the second period against Montreal.