3 ways Jake Guentzel helps the Carolina Hurricanes in their quest for the Stanley Cup

Guentzel makes the Hurricanes a top-ten scoring team

The Hurricanes are fifth in goals allowed with 173 as goaltender Pyotr Kochetov has been lights out in most of his recent appearances. But Carolina hasn’t been as hot from a scoring standpoint, sitting at an above-average 13th in the league with 205 goals scored. 

Their leading scorer, Sebastian Aho, has 65 points, 24 goals, and 41 assists on the year, and he’s the only one on the team with more points than Guentzel, who has 52 of them to go with 22 goals and 30 helpers. That said, Guentzel doesn’t just hold an edge in points but also in the latter two categories. And that was for a hockey team that is now 25th in the league with just 179 goals. 

Guentzel is now playing for a team that is much better with the puck than the Pittsburgh Penguins have been in all situations. And his ability to consistently find open linemates or to locate adequate shooting lanes takes a team that is decent in scoring up another notch. 

While Guentzel put up stellar statistics in Pittsburgh, you may be asking how we know he’s another Alex DeBrincat and not another Elias Lindholm. The second reason in this slideshow should calm those potential concerns if you have some.