Mark Madden: Many Penguins' catalysts are done getting better, but Jake Guentzel offers hope moving forward

Jake Guentzel is a coach’s kid and Sidney Crosby’s linemate.

That’s a combination that dictates excellence.

“Guentzel is as perfect as can be without being Sid.” That’s what ex-Pittsburgh Penguin and current TV analyst Mike Rupp said after Guentzel dropped two goals and two assists in the Penguins’ 6-3 home victory over the New York Islanders Thursday. It’s as good a description as any.

But Crosby is 34. So is Kris Letang. Evgeni Malkin is 35.

Guentzel is 27. His career is still in its ascendancy.

With the Penguins, Guentzel can operate in the shadows. That doubtless dulls his rep among hockey media and fans, especially outside Pittsburgh.

Guentzel has 37 goals and 41 assists in 70 games. That’s a career high for points and helpers, just three shy of his best for goals.

He looks as threatening as a glass of milk. Like a muppet. But at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds (maybe), Guentzel goes to war in tight spaces. He takes a beating that bigger men avoid. He sacrifices.

Guentzel excels doing short give-and-go plays in traffic, which is what Crosby demands. He’s got the skating to stretch the play. He possesses an assassin’s heart in front of the net. Witness his first goal Thursday, calmly shooting the puck across the goalie and in the direction it came from.

It was a simple, precise finish the late Mike Bossy would have been proud of.

For a while, it was easy to think Guentzel was a Crosby creation. Guentzel does benefit greatly from skating with the Penguins captain. Who wouldn’t?

But if it’s not an equal partnership, it’s close. Guentzel is Crosby’s best linemate ever. (Marian Hossa is No. 2.)

“For not being the biggest guy, (Guentzel) plays with an edge,” Crosby said. “He plays the give-and-go game, he’s got a great shot and he finds the net. He’s somebody who can hold onto the puck and make plays himself. He goes to the tough areas.”

Added Letang, “Jake is such a smart player. He knows where to go. He works hard. Even if he’s a smaller guy, he goes to the tough areas.”

Coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged Guentzel “kind of flies under the radar. Not in our locker room and not in Pittsburgh. But the hockey world may underappreciate him because he just quietly goes about his business.

“When most hockey fans think of the Penguins, they think of Crosby and Malkin. Some pretty established superstars. But Jake is, without a doubt, an emerging superstar in this league.”

Guentzel’s success isn’t an earth-shattering surprise.

He was a third-round pick in 2013, so his pedigree isn’t overwhelming.

But his father, Mike, was a collegiate and Junior A coach of some repute from 1988-2018, spending the bulk of that time at the University of Minnesota. Perhaps because of that, Jake Guentzel colors inside the lines. He’s superb fundamentally, a perfect match for Crosby.

Guentzel can score. That’s his primary quality.

In his first full pro season, 2016-17, he netted 50 times in 98 games. That includes American Hockey League regular-season games, NHL regular-season games and the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was an instant success. (The Penguins did OK that season, you may recall.)

Many of the Penguins’ primary catalysts are done getting better. Not Guentzel.

Perhaps more than anyone, he offers hope moving forward. (Crosby is far from done, BTW.)

That Jake’s Shake is awesome, too, albeit about a billion calories.

“A chocolate hat trick,” it says here.