Jake Guentzel said he expected some pregame butterflies before the puck dropped in his NHL debut Monday night as the Penguins took on the Rangers.

His goal was to keep things simple, focus on the task at hand and try to have fun.

In reality, the only thing that looked difficult for him was trying to hold back a smile on the bench at the end of the first period.

Guentzel scored twice in the first 15 minutes of his NHL career in the Penguins’ 5-2 loss to the Rangers Monday night. His first goal came on his very first shift and his very first shot.

“It's something you dream of,” Guentzel said.

“You have a little nerves at the start, try to get them out early. Obviously with the goal, I think it helped a little bit.”

After he scored, his parents, Mike and Sally, and older brother Ryan could barely contain their excitement in the PPG Paints Arena stands.

“Having my parents here, all they've done for me, it's pretty unique,” Guentzel said.

He wasn’t done after just one, though, adding a second goal on a rebound later in the first period. The Penguins couldn’t hold on to the lead, but it’s hard to imagine a better debut for the Penguins’ newest young forward.

“We’re really excited about him as a player,” Sullivan said. “He comes to our team tonight playing his first NHL game, he brings a lot of enthusiasm and that becomes infectious. We’re obviously thrilled for him that he had such a great game in his first game.”

Scoring isn’t anything new for Guentzel, who had 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 16 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. His offensive ability is why Sullivan put him alongside Evgeni Malkin on the Penguins second line, rather than further down the lineup in a more defensive role.

“He’s an offensive player, that’s a strength of his game, and so we tried to put him with offensive guys to give him an opportunity to play to his strengths,” Sullivan said.

But it wasn’t just his skill set that made him a good fit. Sullivan praised Guentzel’s mentality on the ice, saying he has a “quiet confidence” that allows him to play with superstars that could intimidate other young players.

“I think that is a tendency with young players, when they play with players of that nature, they tend to just want to get them the puck all the times, sometimes at the wrong times rather than just taking what the game presents,” Sullivan said. “I don’t sense that with Jake.”

He certainly didn’t appear intimidated Monday night, leading the Penguins with five shots on net.

Guentzel played alongside Phil Kessel in the preseason, but this was his first time playing on Malkin’s line for a full game. Malkin, for his part, didn’t recall playing much with Guentzel, even during training camp, but was impressed with what he saw Monday night.

“It’s fun to play with him,” Malkin said. “He’s young, he’s excited to play his first game. Unbelievable, first shot and he scores his first goal. I think it [means] more confidence for him after this game.

“He was probably the best player tonight, and I’m excited to play with him."

Guentzel’s scoring place will undoubtedly slow down, but he seems to have a spot in the Penguins lineup for at least the foreseeable future. Patric Hornqvist is day-to-day with a concussion and Chris Kunitz is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

For at least a night, though, Guentzel can take some time to enjoy a successful NHL debut. As Matt Cullen, who has played in over 1,000 NHL games, knows, nights like Monday don’t happen too often.

“I don’t know if you ever really expect it,” Cullen said. “It’s not an easy league to score in, but to see it happens is pretty cool.”

Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG