Own goal dooms bumbling Penguins in loss to Coyotes
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Thanks in part to a brutal own-goal in the third period, the Pittsburgh Penguins were defeated 5-2 by the Arizona Coyotes at Mullet Arena in Tempe, Ariz. on Monday.
During a delayed penalty with the Penguins trailing 3-2, defenseman Kris Letang and forward Evgeni Malkin botched a seemingly mundane simple passing exchange and directed a puck into their own open net on a cluster-bumble of a sequence that virtually euthanized any hopes of a comeback attempt.
“We just have to have a heightened awareness that we don’t have a goalie in the net in that scenario,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said during media availability broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh’s postgame show. “We’ve got to try to avoid making plays in that area. I think if we have a heightened awareness, then we don’t fall victim of a bad bounce or whatever.”
The result snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Penguins against the Coyotes. It was their longest active winning streak against any one opponent.
Former Penguins forward Jason Zucker opened the scoring 2:23 into regulation with his seventh goal of the season.
Pushing play through the neutral zone, Zucker chipped the puck off the near boards and into the offensive zone on the right wing as Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson provided resistance. Coyotes rookie forward Logan Cooley, a native of West Mifflin, chased the puck down low in the right circle and one-handed a backhand pass to the front of the crease. Darting in from the right circle, Zucker snapped a forehand shot past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker. Cooley and defenseman Josh Brown had assists.
Current Penguins forward Lars Eller tied the game via his eighth goal at 4:50 of the second period.
After gaining the offensive zone at the center point, Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph, a former Coyotes prospect, flicked a backhand pass to the left wing for Eller. Gliding into the left circle, Eller utilized Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki as a screen and ripped a wrister on net. Goaltender Connor Ingram made the initial save but couldn’t wrangle the rebound. Eller crashed in and caused the loose puck to bounce into the cage. Joseph claimed the only assist.
Valimaki’s first goal of the season restored a lead for the hosts, 2-1, at 11:04 of the second frame.
Off a give-and-go sequence, Valimaki dished a forehand pass from the center point of the offensive zone and then surged to the slot. Accepting the pass on the right half-wall, Coyotes forward Clayton Keller retreated to the right point before dishing the puck back to Valimaki, who snapped a wrister from between the hash marks behind Jarry. Former Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad (6-foot-6, 209 pounds) provided a screen on the process while current Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves provided a nugatory block attempt while kneeling. Assists went to Keller and linemate Matias Maccelli.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby tied the game again, 2-2, by scoring his 27th goal at the 16:30 mark of the second.
As a power-play opportunity expired, Crosby controlled the puck behind and slightly to the right of the Coyotes’ cage then fed a pass to the high slot for defenseman Erik Karlsson. Considering his options for a moment, Karlsson opted for Crosby and dealt a forehand pass to the right of the cage where Crosby deflected the puck by Ingram’s glove on the near side. Karlsson and Malkin collected assists.
That assist allowed Karlsson to extend a scoring streak to nine games (one goal, nine assists).
The Coyotes regained the lead only 1:29 through forward Alex Kerfoot’s seventh goal.
From the high slot, Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse fired a heavy wrister which was rejected by Jarry’s left leg. Zucker collected the rebound to the right of the cage and took it low to the end boards. Shielding it from Karlsson, Zucker lost the puck for a moment to Graves but poked it free, causing it to slide to the right of the case. As Jarry struggled to keep track of the puck, Kerfoot was stationed to the right of the crease and jabbed a forehand shot by Jarry’s left skate. Zucker had the lone assist.
A bewildering mishap gave the Coyotes the first multi-goal lead 4:10 into the third period.
With Jarry pulled for an extra attacker due to a delayed penalty during a Coyotes power-play sequence, Letang tried to rag the puck to kill time remaining on a minor penalty to Penguins forward Jansen Harkins. Facing pressure from a forechecking Keller, Letang retreated from his own blue line toward the cage and tried to leave a drop pass in the left circle for Malkin. Backtracking toward his cage, Malkin failed to accept the pass cleanly and inadvertently deflected it into the vacant cage for an own goal. Crouse was credited with his 18th goal during a power-play sequence. There were no assists.
“I’ve only seen videos of it happen somewhere, but never been in the game,” Kerfoot said to the Associated Press in Tempe. “That was wild for sure.”
Bjugstad delivered the coup de grace with his 10th goal at 7:04 of the final frame.
Just outside the Penguins’ blue line, Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien gloved down a clearing attempt and gained the offensive zone on the left wing. With Graves offering a minimal impediment, O’Brien snapped a backhanded pass to Bjugstad streaking in off the left wing. Attacking the cage, Bjugstad lifted a wrister over Jarry’s glove. O’Brien and forward Jack McBain had assists.
Jarry made 22 saves on 26 shots as his record fell to 12-14-4.
“We played well, we got chances, but in the end there that goalie just played well,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said to the AP. “Sometimes you’ve just got to tip your cap.”
Notes:
• Per the NHL, this marked the first instance on record in league history of a team scoring a power-play goal with zero power-play shots on net.
• Before Monday, the Coyotes’ most recent win against the Penguins was a 4-3 overtime victory at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 11, 2017. Defenseman Connor Murphy scored the winning goal against goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
• Following Monday’s loss, the Penguins’ longest active winning streak against another franchise is now a four-game stretch against the Minnesota Wild.
• The Penguins’ power play was 0 for 3 with three shots.
• Penguins defensemen Ryan Shea (healthy) and forward Reilly Smith (undisclosed injury) were scratched.
• The Coyotes played most of this game with only five defensemen as Matt Dumba did not record a shift following the 19:39 mark of the first period due to an undisclosed injury, according to PHNX Sports.