Jake Guentzel with Team USA (Via Getty Images) Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel stood on opposite sides of the ice on February 21 in the Olympic gold medal game between Team USA and Team Canada. But today, the two reunite as Tampa Bay teammates as the Lightning get ready to face the Maple Leafs.Four days ago, the two faced off in the biggest game of their lives as Guentzel helped Team USA capture its first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 with a 2-1 overtime victory over Hagel’s Canada. Now they return to Amalie Arena as teammates alongside six other Lightning Olympians.
Tampa Bay Lightning get ready for their playoff push with their core members back
The pair will face Team USA captain Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs in Tampa Bay’s first game following the Olympic break. And while the two were part of hockey’s biggest rivalry, throughout the tournament, they didn’t let it affect them. Guentzel remains pretty proud of that fact.”I love Hags. He’s one of my best friends on this team, and we were talking throughout the whole tournament,” Guentzel said, according to the team. “Once that game hit, though, you’re playing for your country.” The handshake line marked the return to normalcy for the teammates.The 31-year-old forward made it clear that while on ice, they were rivals; once the buzzer went off, they immediately went back to being friends. Lightning and Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper sought out Guentzel following the gold medal game. The conversation left a lasting impression on the forward. Guentzel has played under Cooper for two years with Tampa Bay. The coach congratulated his player despite Canada falling short of gold in the overtime thriller. “It was just more, ‘Hopefully we’ll do this together sometime soon,'” Guentzel said of Cooper’s message. “It was really nice for him to seek me out and congratulate me like that.” The Lightning players returned from Milan on the night of February 23. Guentzel described the quick transition back to NHL action as stressful and nerve-wracking.Tampa Bay faces a grueling schedule ahead with 27 games in 50 days. Despite their position at the top of the Atlantic Division, the Lightning remain vigilant. With a 37-14-4 record and 78, they are looking to make sure that they keep their first place and get a better seeding.As for Toronto, they sit seventh in the division with a 27-21-9 record and 63 points, trailing Tampa Bay by 15 points in the standings heading into the post-Olympic stretch run.