Penguins forward Jake Guentzel: 'I let a lot of people down'

If there was ever a time that things felt just right for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their first-round series against the New York Islanders, it came during the early stages of Game 6 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Wednesday.

At 11 minutes, 12 seconds of the first period, the Penguins scored a power-play goal.

More importantly, Jake Guentzel scored a goal.

Up until that point in the series, Guentzel, one of the more prolific goal-scorers in the franchise’s storied postseason history, had been held off the scoreboard by a stout Islanders defense.

But he was finally able to find twine.

Off the left half wall, defenseman Kris Letang fed a pass to the slot for Guentzel, who was wound up for a one-timer.

Guentzel stroked a shot that hit off the right skate of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and hopped past goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s glove.

Tumbling to the ice after the shot, Guentzel pumped both arms in celebration as he put his team up 2-1. For one moment, Guentzel and the Penguins were in a good place.

Alas, they were evicted from that place pretty quickly as they lost to the Islanders, 5-3, in an elimination game that ended their season.

Guentzel, who led the team with 25 shots during the series, was distraught over his lack of production.

“Sometimes, you’re feeling it and everything it goes in,” Guentzel said via video conference Friday. “Sometimes, it’s not going to find a way into the net. I thought I had chances. I had shots. I’ve got to find a better way to produce and do my job there. I take a lot of responsibility for that. I let a lot of people down. I’ve got to find a way to put the puck in the net, make plays and be better there.

“Yeah, it hurts.”

That pain has been amplified in triplicate considering the Penguins have not won a postseason series for three consecutive years.

This postseason appeared to offer greater hopes than the previous two as the Penguins had won the East Division, their first division title since 2014.

“We were feeling good about ourselves going into the playoffs,” Guentzel said. “Sometimes, you just run into a good team. They’re a good team, and they had a great goaltender. It’s part of the game sometimes.”

While everything is a matter of speculation so early into the team’s offseason, there would appear to be no limit to what changes management — namely new general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke — might consider in crafting the 2021-22 roster.

That includes a potential personnel maneuver involving an All-Star like Guentzel, who was the team’s second-leading scorer during the regular season with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) in 56 games.

“You know the game is a business,” Guentzel said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You never want to be an early exit, and the last three years have been that case. We’ve just to be better overall in the playoffs. … It’s out of our control. That’s management. We’ve just to make sure we’re better next year.”

For Guentzel’s part, he appears focused on turning his postseason futility into offseason motivation.

“Physically, try to get stronger,” said the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Guentzel. “Just excited to get in the weight room get going for that reason because I’ve just got to be better overall. It’s going to be a good summer just because it’s left a sour taste in my mouth.

“I know I’ve got to be a lot better.”

Follow the Penguins all season long.