Trailing 4-2 halfway through the second period of Sunday's Game 6, the Pittsburgh Penguins were staring at the possibility of having to go home for a Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Enter Jake Guentzel.
The Penguins forward assisted on a Patric Hornqvist tally and then took matters into his own hands by scoring four straight goals to lead Pittsburgh to an 8-5 series-clinching win in Philadelphia.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE CHAMPIONS!
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 22, 2018
...And seeking more. #3elieve pic.twitter.com/yjJWtqIN0W
After setting up Hornqvist, Guentzel brought the Penguins level in the final minute of the second period. The 23-year-old deflected Olli Maatta's point shot past Flyers netminder Michal Neuvirth to tie the game at four.
Guentzel gave the Penguins the lead just 30 seconds into the third period. He was the beneficiary of some strong forechecking by linemate Phil Kessel, who took the puck off Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov and put it on a platter for Guentzel to tap into an empty net.
The Penguins' phenom wasn't done there. With less than eight minutes to play, Guentzel took Kris Letang's pass and fired a one-timer past Neuvirth to complete his second career playoff hat trick.
While fans and commentators alike were questioning whether Letang got away with a trip in the lead-up to the goal, the Penguins were on the attack again. Ten seconds after completing his hat trick, Guentzel grabbed his fourth on a beautiful pass from Hornqvist to make it 7-4 Pittsburgh.
In his two NHL seasons, Guentzel has shown he is capable of playing his best hockey under the brightest lights. He scored 13 goals in 25 games last postseason on Pittsburgh's run to the Stanley Cup and tallied six more in the team's first-round series with Philadelphia.
Guentzel has just 38 regular season goals in 122 career games.
He is now one of seven players in NHL history to record four goals in a series-clinching game.
Jake Guentzel became just the seventh player in NHL #StanleyCup Playoffs history to score at least four goals in a series-clinching game. #NHLStats #PHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/1kg9cjwcm2
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 22, 2018
Sean Couturier also netted a hat trick for Philadelphia, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Penguins from winning their ninth straight playoff series.
The Penguins advance to play the winner of the first-round series between the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets in the next round.