NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, there was no signature play for Evgeni Malkin.
On Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena, there was no rookie record-tying goal for Jake Guentzel.
After the Penguins dispatched the Predators, 2-0, to win the franchise's fifth championship, there was no Conn Smythe Trophy for either. That gaudy bauble went to Sidney Crosby instead, and deservedly so.
Regardless of how the title run ended or who ended up winning the 15-person MVP vote, history will look kindly on Geno and Jake, one of them the playoff scoring leader (28 points) and the other the postseason's top sniper (13 goals).
"It's crazy to think," said the 22-year-old Guentzel, about 30 minutes after Patric Hörnqvist and Carl Hagelin put the finishing touches on the Predators. "You never would've thought that coming into the year. What a year it's been."
Guentzel could very well have matched Dino Ciccarelli's 36-year-old playoff record of 14 goals for a rookie. He, Crosby and Conor Sheary were the best line on the ice for the second consecutive game, generating nine of the Penguins' 29 shots on goal and 13 of their 41 total attempts.
But Pekka Rinne was sharp at home again, so Sid and the Kids didn't have anything tangible to show for their exemplary efforts on a slushy Tennessee ice sheet. Well, they didn't have anything on the scoreboard, but they all got to put their sweaty fingerprints on the prettiest prize in pro sports.
"You don't know what to expect, so you try to take it all in," Guentzel said, growing visibly emotional with his immediate family surrounding him. "The whole year you work so hard, and ... it's crazy."
That adjective would describe Guentzel's first year in the NHL, from scoring on his first shot in November, to being sent back to the AHL, to jelling with Crosby and Sheary, to nearly being a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the Final. Easy to forget after it all came to a glorious end, but Guentzel was an ineffective fourth-liner at times against Ottawa, raising concerns that the grind of the postseason had gotten the best of the man listed at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds.
Despite the ups and downs, Guentzel's relationship with Crosby holds quite a bit of promise for the years to come.
"You come to the rink every day and get to play with him," Guentzel said. "It's special. He took me under his wing right away. We're so fortunate the older guys take us in and make us younger guys feel welcome."
To hear Mike Sullivan tell it, the 22-year-old Guentzel's mature game is what made him stand out right away upon his promotion to the NHL, just as much as his 21 goals and 21 assists in 33 AHL games this season.
"We talk a lot as a coaching staff about players that have 'it,' that I-T," Sullivan said. "It's hard to explain in words what that 'it' is, but you know it when you see it, and I think Jake is one of those guys. No stage is too big. He's a real competitive kid. He's got a high hockey IQ, and he's one of those guys that's just gotten better every day that he's spent with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So you can see the impact that he had throughout the course of this playoffs. I think that's an indication of what he's capable of, and I believe that he's only going to get better."
Guentzel joins a group of men in their early 20s who have boosted a team that for a while looked like it missed its chance to reel off multiple Cup wins. Now, the nascent presence of Guentzel, Sheary and Bryan Rust -- whose seven goals this spring put him in the postseason top 10 -- has effectively extended the championship prime of this core.
"They're flying," Malkin said. "They give us so much power and speed."
Malkin himself looked worse for the wear while addressing reporters' questions late Sunday night, showing off a gash on his nose. He said a teammate's helmet split him open, although it's hardly his most painful moment of a strenuous postseason.
"We've played long series," Malkin said, letting out a breath. "It's lots of emotion, but tomorrow you wake up (and) it's (an) amazing day."
The Final was an odd one for Malkin. He scored a goal each in Games 1, 2 and 5, but his line with Phil Kessel didn't spend much time in the Nashville zone as the series progressed. It was almost completely shut down during the three road games, when Predators coach Peter Laviolette could match his shutdown pairing of P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm against Geno and Co.
That late-stage unevenness probably cost Malkin his second Conn Smythe, even as he finished with one more point than Crosby over the Penguins' 25 playoff games.
The near-miss lined up with Malkin's first season as a thirtysomething, which contained multitudes.
After consecutive seasons in which his points-per-game rate settled around 1.00, Malkin boosted his per-game production to 1.16, his best since 2013-14. Just as importantly, he rediscovered his goal-scoring touch, as his 33 tallies marked his highest single-season total since he buried 50 in his MVP season of 2011-12. Yet, a shoulder injury, presumably suffered while blocking a shot, cost him the final 20 games of the regular season.
What could've been an all-around banner season for Malkin ended up feeling a bit incomplete, at least until the playoffs got going. Not that one of the best centermen of all time appeared to mind much.
Malkin's combination of speed, skill and strength are still overwhelming even as he's about to turn 31 next month, but frequent linemate Scott Wilson said he finds himself just as impressed by the way he conducts his business. I asked Wilson which of Malkin's attributes most surprised him as he rode shotgun with him for much of this spring.
"Just how feisty he is for being a skill guy," Wilson said. "I think, you know, we've got some of the best players in the world. We've got probably four of them on our team and just watching them go about their day and how badly they want to win, is pretty special. I just try to do my best with a guy like Geno, and Phil, and help them as much as I can. Just seeing those guys really want to win and putting everything else aside is pretty cool."
Wilson missed out on last year's title push due to a broken leg, so this was all new to him as he glanced around the crowded playing surface where the Penguins had just become the NHL's first repeat champions this century.
Take Wilson's respectful posture and add a healthy portion of awe in order to describe Guentzel's reaction to lifting the Cup, and playing such a massive offensive role in the accomplishment.
"I think I jumped through the roof," he gushed, recalling the final horn. "I was so excited."
On Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena, there was no rookie record-tying goal for Jake Guentzel.
After the Penguins dispatched the Predators, 2-0, to win the franchise's fifth championship, there was no Conn Smythe Trophy for either. That gaudy bauble went to Sidney Crosby instead, and deservedly so.
Regardless of how the title run ended or who ended up winning the 15-person MVP vote, history will look kindly on Geno and Jake, one of them the playoff scoring leader (28 points) and the other the postseason's top sniper (13 goals).
"It's crazy to think," said the 22-year-old Guentzel, about 30 minutes after Patric Hörnqvist and Carl Hagelin put the finishing touches on the Predators. "You never would've thought that coming into the year. What a year it's been."
Guentzel could very well have matched Dino Ciccarelli's 36-year-old playoff record of 14 goals for a rookie. He, Crosby and Conor Sheary were the best line on the ice for the second consecutive game, generating nine of the Penguins' 29 shots on goal and 13 of their 41 total attempts.
But Pekka Rinne was sharp at home again, so Sid and the Kids didn't have anything tangible to show for their exemplary efforts on a slushy Tennessee ice sheet. Well, they didn't have anything on the scoreboard, but they all got to put their sweaty fingerprints on the prettiest prize in pro sports.
"You don't know what to expect, so you try to take it all in," Guentzel said, growing visibly emotional with his immediate family surrounding him. "The whole year you work so hard, and ... it's crazy."
That adjective would describe Guentzel's first year in the NHL, from scoring on his first shot in November, to being sent back to the AHL, to jelling with Crosby and Sheary, to nearly being a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the Final. Easy to forget after it all came to a glorious end, but Guentzel was an ineffective fourth-liner at times against Ottawa, raising concerns that the grind of the postseason had gotten the best of the man listed at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds.
Despite the ups and downs, Guentzel's relationship with Crosby holds quite a bit of promise for the years to come.
"You come to the rink every day and get to play with him," Guentzel said. "It's special. He took me under his wing right away. We're so fortunate the older guys take us in and make us younger guys feel welcome."
MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
To hear Mike Sullivan tell it, the 22-year-old Guentzel's mature game is what made him stand out right away upon his promotion to the NHL, just as much as his 21 goals and 21 assists in 33 AHL games this season.
"We talk a lot as a coaching staff about players that have 'it,' that I-T," Sullivan said. "It's hard to explain in words what that 'it' is, but you know it when you see it, and I think Jake is one of those guys. No stage is too big. He's a real competitive kid. He's got a high hockey IQ, and he's one of those guys that's just gotten better every day that he's spent with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So you can see the impact that he had throughout the course of this playoffs. I think that's an indication of what he's capable of, and I believe that he's only going to get better."
Guentzel joins a group of men in their early 20s who have boosted a team that for a while looked like it missed its chance to reel off multiple Cup wins. Now, the nascent presence of Guentzel, Sheary and Bryan Rust -- whose seven goals this spring put him in the postseason top 10 -- has effectively extended the championship prime of this core.
"They're flying," Malkin said. "They give us so much power and speed."
Malkin himself looked worse for the wear while addressing reporters' questions late Sunday night, showing off a gash on his nose. He said a teammate's helmet split him open, although it's hardly his most painful moment of a strenuous postseason.
"We've played long series," Malkin said, letting out a breath. "It's lots of emotion, but tomorrow you wake up (and) it's (an) amazing day."
The Final was an odd one for Malkin. He scored a goal each in Games 1, 2 and 5, but his line with Phil Kessel didn't spend much time in the Nashville zone as the series progressed. It was almost completely shut down during the three road games, when Predators coach Peter Laviolette could match his shutdown pairing of P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm against Geno and Co.
That late-stage unevenness probably cost Malkin his second Conn Smythe, even as he finished with one more point than Crosby over the Penguins' 25 playoff games.
The near-miss lined up with Malkin's first season as a thirtysomething, which contained multitudes.
After consecutive seasons in which his points-per-game rate settled around 1.00, Malkin boosted his per-game production to 1.16, his best since 2013-14. Just as importantly, he rediscovered his goal-scoring touch, as his 33 tallies marked his highest single-season total since he buried 50 in his MVP season of 2011-12. Yet, a shoulder injury, presumably suffered while blocking a shot, cost him the final 20 games of the regular season.
What could've been an all-around banner season for Malkin ended up feeling a bit incomplete, at least until the playoffs got going. Not that one of the best centermen of all time appeared to mind much.
"We just did the job," Malkin said. "We're (a) great organization. Great club."
The Penguins' team success has been a Catch-22 for Malkin lately. With Crosby driving toward immortal status and previous unknowns like Guentzel rising up, it's easy to lump Malkin's hefty credentials onto the black-and-gold pile.
Just don't expect his longtime running mate to go along with that. Crosby was asked after Game 6 who he would've voted for if he was issued a Conn Smythe ballot.
"I think Geno comes to mind right away," he said.
In the post-championship afterglow, Sullivan expounded on the extreme luxury of having two game-changing talents on his side.
"They're generational players," he said. "They're elite in their own way. They're different players, but they're both elite in their own way. I really believe in just my time here with both guys, they've grown to be appreciative for one another and how they help each other have success and this team. And so when there are nights when maybe Sid might not have his A game, that Geno steps up and helps this team win and vice versa.
"I think I termed it a one-two punch maybe yesterday, but it's really a '1' and '1A.' They're great people. I don't know that you could find two better people to build a team around than these two guys."
Malkin's combination of speed, skill and strength are still overwhelming even as he's about to turn 31 next month, but frequent linemate Scott Wilson said he finds himself just as impressed by the way he conducts his business. I asked Wilson which of Malkin's attributes most surprised him as he rode shotgun with him for much of this spring.
"Just how feisty he is for being a skill guy," Wilson said. "I think, you know, we've got some of the best players in the world. We've got probably four of them on our team and just watching them go about their day and how badly they want to win, is pretty special. I just try to do my best with a guy like Geno, and Phil, and help them as much as I can. Just seeing those guys really want to win and putting everything else aside is pretty cool."
Wilson missed out on last year's title push due to a broken leg, so this was all new to him as he glanced around the crowded playing surface where the Penguins had just become the NHL's first repeat champions this century.
Take Wilson's respectful posture and add a healthy portion of awe in order to describe Guentzel's reaction to lifting the Cup, and playing such a massive offensive role in the accomplishment.
"I think I jumped through the roof," he gushed, recalling the final horn. "I was so excited."
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