Dylan Guenther can't stop scoring goals for the Utah Hockey Club. He started the year off scoring two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks, then scored two more against the New York Islanders and added one more on the powerplay last night against the New York Rangers.
This is the first season Dylan Guenther has made an NHL team out of training camp. He was coming into his first full year in the NHL with huge expectations after scoring 18 goals in 42 games last season.
Guenther's five goals through the first three games of the year have him leading the NHL in scoring, but Guenther hasn't just been putting the puck in the net. He has been all over the ice, creating chances on this second line with Jack McBain and Logan Cooley.
Dylan Guenther can't stop scoring goals for the Utah Hockey Club
Following Utah's win against the New York Rangers, Utah Head Coach Andre Tourigny was asked about Dylan Guenther's performance through the first three games, and he said, "One thing that Dylan has is he's good in every facet of the game. He's good at defending; he has a really good stick, and he sees the ice well offensively and defensively. He takes a lot of pride in that" (via Brogan Houston).
To start the year Guenther has utilized this vision that coach Tourigny is talking about to find space in great shooting areas even if they are not considered high-danger scoring areas. Guenther has an elite shot and is unafraid to let a shot fly from anywhere.
Through the first three games Guenther is tied for the team lead in shots on goal with Barrett Hayton, but has six more shot attempts than anyone else on the Utah Hockey Club (via NaturalStatTrick).
Before the season, I predicted that Guenther would score between 30 and 40 goals, comparing him to guys like William Nylander, Leon Draisaitl, and Frank Vatrano. At the time, it felt a little crazy to compare a guy playing his first entire season in the NHL to these bonafide stars, but through the first three games, Guenther is on pace for a completely realistic 136-goal season.
All jokes aside, Guenther is not going to pace anywhere near this many goals for the rest of the season, but I have seen enough to feel extremely confident in saying he will score at least 30 goals this season and could possibly eclipse the 40-goal mark.
If Guenther can continue to provide consistent goal scoring on the second line, this Utah will be a handful for any opponent in the NHL, as the top line of Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, and Nick Schmaltz has been dominating.
We will see if Dylan Guenther can extend his lead as the NHL's leading goal scorer on Monday night against the New Jersey Devils.