CRANBERRY TWP. -- "I don't think I've been very good," was Jake Guentzel's blunt self-assessment last week.
Apparently, Mike Sullivan and his coaching staff concur.
As he was at the end of Sunday's 4-1 win over the Blues in St. Louis, Guentzel was skating on the fourth line -- and also not on the first power play unit -- when the Penguins returned to practice Monday morning at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
It's a precipitous fall for Guentzel who started the weekend trip on the top line in Dallas. Against the Blues he played a season-low 12 shifts and 9:01. He has just one goal in his last 16 games.
The Penguins have been desperate to jumpstart Guentzel in recent weeks. First, he was moved back to wing after a failed stint at center. Then he was placed on the No. 1 power play unit when Patric Hornqvist went down with a lower body injury and then he was reunited on a line with Sidney Crosby.
None of the moves has had the desired effect, but one would have to think that Guentzel, the top goal scorer of last year's playoffs, will soon get another opportunity.
In the meantime, Zach Aston-Reese was back at Guentzel's spot on the power play, the net-front presence on the NHL's top-ranked unit. For a guy who was just called up from the AHL a little over a week ago, it's like being handed the keys to the Ferrari.
"I'm just trying to find spots, not grip my stick too tight playing with those guys and not abandoning the net," Aston-Reese told me Monday. "Just being a good net-front presence and let those guys do their thing."
At this time a year ago, the 23-year-old was playing for Northeastern University, earning Hobey Baker Award consideration, but he says he's not intimidated when he looks around and sees himself sharing the same ice with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. Those four have seven more combined Stanley Cup rings than he has NHL games, 11 to 4.
"They're my teammates now," Aston-Reese said. "That's part of being a pro, to have that mindset and be comfortable with that."
At 6-foot and 204 pounds, Aston-Reese brings good size and plays a strong two-way game. But he is not Hornqvist, either. Since the Swede went down with a lower body injury against Washington on Feb. 2, the Penguins have gone 0-for-10 with the man advantage.
"What he does is hard to replicate," Aston-Reese said of Hornqvist. "You try to do everything to emulate that kind of game."
Aston-Reese did pick up the primary assist -- his first career point -- on Riley Sheahan's first-period goal Friday in Dallas:
That, he says, has given him a little confidence boost as he gets acclimated to his new surroundings.
"I feel I've progressed throughout the four games," Aston-Reese said. "It's nice getting practice in with these guys. You start to do things quicker and with more pace."
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