Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Records pair of helpers
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Guentzel logged two assists and four shots on goal in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Devils.
Guentzel logged his second straight multi-point effort and his sixth such performance this season. One of his helpers came on the power play. Guentzel continues to excel in a top-six role in his first year with the Lightning, earning seven goals, 10 assists, 45 shots on net, 17 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating over 16 appearances. He often hovers right around a point-per-game pace, so this production is sustainable.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Point-per-game pace so far
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Guentzel scored twice for the Lightning in Thursday's 4-1 victory over the Jets.
Guentzel opened the scoring in the first period when he wired a shot from the top of the slot off a drop pass from Nick Paul. His second went into an empty net. Guentzel is clipping along at a point-per-game pace (seven goals, eight assists in 15 games), with 41 shots.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Tallies with man advantage
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Guentzel scored a power-play goal on two shots and went minus-2 in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Wild.
Guentzel has three goals and five points over his last three contests. His tally Friday was just his second power-play point, both of which are goals, this season. He's up to five tallies, seven helpers, 34 shots on net, 14 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating through 11 games. Guentzel is locked in on the top line and should continue to hover around a point-per-game pace.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Nets two goals Wednesday
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Guentzel scored two goals in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.
Guentzel has posted his first multi-point streak of the season, as he was coming off a two-assist performance in the 3-2 win over the Predators on Monday. Guentzel opened the year on a four-game point streak, and while he hasn't been as consistent of late, he still has six points (three goals, three assists) over his last five games.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Two helpers make seven on season
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Guentzel set up two goals Monday in a 3-2 overtime win over Nashville.
The points ended a short two-game drought. Guentzel has nine points, including seven helpers, and 29 shots in nine games. His shooting percentage is a queasy 6.9, which is well below his career mark of 15.0. What does that mean? Well, things tend to trend toward the mean, so expect Guentzel to start scoring goals in bunches.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Mr. Consistency gets two points
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Guentzel scored a goal and added an assist in an 8-5 win over New Jersey on Tuesday.
He also had a game-high nine shots. Guentzel has been held off the scoresheet just once in six games so far, and he has two goals and five assists in that span. His nine shots Tuesday equaled the number he put up in his previous four games combined. Guetnzel has been a point-per-game (1.06) player since 2019-20 (314 games) and will deliver that kind of total this season.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: First goal with new team
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Guentzel scored a goal in a 5-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
His shot from a sharp angle squeaked past Anton Forsberg to make it 3-3 at the 18:13 mark of the second period. It was Guentzel's first goal as a member of the Lightning after signing with the team in July. He has one goal and four assists in four games this season.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Season-opening point streak
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Guentzel picked up an assist in Thursday's 4-3 win over Vegas.
Guentzel has recorded at least one point in each of his first three appearances of the season, totaling four assists during that time. Guentzel is known as a goal scorer, but he hasn't scored yet this season. There's no reason for concern -- he looks like a strong fit on the top line, and the goals will come. Last season, Guentzel scored 30 goals between Pittsburgh and Carolina, and he has two 40-goal campaigns in his career.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Sets up two goals Friday
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Guentzel recorded two assists in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
Guentzel inked a seven-year deal with the Lightning in the offseason after starting eight straight seasons with the Penguins. Despite being uncertain for the season opener after missing some practice time, he didn't have problems performing on the top line alongside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Guentzel should have plenty of opportunities to produce on one of the best offensive teams in the NHL, and he'll look for his first goal of the campaign against the Canucks on Tuesday.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Ready to play Friday
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Guentzel (undisclosed) is practicing on the top line Friday, Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida reports.
Guentzel left practice early Monday and sat out Tuesday's skate, but he will be in the lineup Friday for Opening Night in Carolina. Guentzel will start on the top line, alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, as well as play on the top power play. The 30-year-old had many productive seasons on a line with Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, but Guentzel could surpass his career high in goals (40) and points (84) while playing on the Lightning's top unit.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Absent from practice Tuesday
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Guentzel was not on the ice for practice Tuesday with an undisclosed injury, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Guentzel left practice early Monday, but coach Jon Cooper dismissed the severity of the issue, saying it was nothing to worry about. However, the fact that Guentzel was not participating in Tuesday's session is certainly going to raise concerns among fans and fantasy players alike. The Bolts don't start the season until Friday's matchup with Carolina, so Guentzel still has plenty of time to get back to 100 percent.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Ready for top-line role
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Guentzel will skate on the Lightning's top line with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.
"There is a lot of pressure on me," Guentzel told The Athletic. "But that's what makes it fun. I'm ready for this. I've learned a lot over the years." The pressure is on for Guentzel, who was signed to ostensibly replace former captain Steven Stamkos. The 29-year-old Guentzel proved he was more than Sidney Crosby's wingman after being traded to Carolina last season. Guentzel stepped up his output, producing 25 points in 17 games with the Hurricanes before adding another nine points in 11 postseason contests. Guentzel will benefit tremendously from the elite playmaking of Kucherov, who put up 100 assists last season. His best season was 2021-22, a 40-goal, 84-point performance. A career year may be in the cards in the 2024-25 campaign.
Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Inks seven-year deal with Tampa Bay
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Guentzel signed a seven-year, $63 million contract with Tampa Bay on Monday.
Guentzel was arguably the biggest name on the board in free agency and won't even officially make it to the open market after the Lightning acquired his negotiation rights Sunday. Effectively, Guentzel will step into the role being vacated by Steven Stamkos, who Tampa Bay has allowed to leave via free agency. The 29-year-old Guentzel registered 30 goals and 47 assists in 67 regular-season contests between the Penguins and Hurricanes in 2023-24. Guentzel should be more than capable of surpassing those totals during the upcoming campaign, assuming health prevails.
