Penguins finally score on the power play and beat Coyotes
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It was a night to celebrate hockey in Pittsburgh.
West Mifflin native and Arizona Coyotes rookie forward Logan Cooley – perhaps the greatest talent this region has ever produced in the sport – played at PPG Paints Arena for the first time in his young career against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Also worthy of rejoicing? The home team scored power-play goals – plural – for the first time in over a month as the Penguins beat the Coyotes, 4-2, and snapped a four-game losing skid (0-2-2).
A pair of man-advantage goals by forwards Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter broke a hideous skid of 13 consecutive games – a franchise record – without a power-play goal. Overall, the Penguins were 2 for 6 on the power play Tuesday.
Their most recent power-play goal came during a 4-0 home win against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 11.
“Hopefully, we don’t have to talk about it anymore,” Carter quipped. “Both (power-play) units did a great job tonight. There’s been a lot of talk in our room about it within the units, a lot of practice time.”
Carter used an agricultural term to outline the team’s recent power-play woes and the solution that was utilized Tuesday.
“We were simplifying and shooting pucks,” Carter said. “When things aren’t going your way, you tend to force plays and throw pucks into the (manure) and it usually doesn’t work. If you simplify and you shoot and you go to the net, good things happen.”
Good things happened for the Penguins fairly early as Guentzel scored his 11th goal of the season 72 seconds into regulation on a power-play sequence.
Taking a pass on the left half wall of the offensive zone, Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen dealt it low to the left of the cage for forward Sidney Crosby. Slinking his way behind the net, Crosby dished the puck to the left circle for Guentzel, who lifted an immediate wrister to the near side that clunked in off of goaltender Connor Ingram’s right shoulder and into the cage. Crosby and Puustinen had assists.
Guentzel and Crosby have connected on countless such sequences in their eight seasons as linemates.
“We kind of read off each other and I know he’s such a good playmaker,” Guentzel said. “I just try to find those soft areas for him. He put it right in the spot. That’s just kind of what I’m used to with him.”
The Coyotes responded with their own power-play score at 10:20 of the first period via forward Lawson Crouse’s 13th goal.
From the center point of the offensive zone, Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki offloaded a forehand pass to the right half wall for former Penguins forward Jason Zucker. Waiting for a seam to open between Penguins defenders, Zucker slipped a clever pass to just below the left hashmarks, where Crouse pushed a forehand shot by goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker. Zucker and Valimaki tallied assists.
The Coyotes took their first lead at 15:24 of the opening frame when forward Matias Maccelli found his fifth goal during another power-play sequence.
Corralling a deflected pass in the Penguins’ slot, Crouse pushed a forehand shot on net that Jarry rejected with his right leg. On the ensuing scramble for the rebound, Maccelli snuck in from the left circle and jabbed a backhander that was blocked by the left skate of Penguins forward Lars Eller. Maccelli persisted and chopped another rebound in with a backhander off of the belly of a scrambling Jarry and into the cage. Crouse and former Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad claimed assists.
A rare short-handed goal by Carter tied the game 2-2 at 16:54 of the first.
After winning a puck battle against Coyotes forward Clayton Keller and defenseman J.J. Moser on the wall in front of his own bench in the defensive zone, Penguins forward Drew O’Connor pushed play into the neutral zone and then dealt a pass, springing Carter on a breakaway. Attacking the cage, Carter smoothly elevated a backhander over the blocker of Ingram for his second goal of the season. The lone assist went to O’Connor.
Following a scoreless second period, Carter scored again during a power-play sequence at 4:23 of the third period.
From the right half wall of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Reilly Smith slid a pass to the center point, where defenseman Kris Letang golfed a one-timer. Stationed above the crease, Carter re-directed the puck with the shaft of his stick by Ingram’s glove. Letang and Smith had assists.
A pair of special teams goals represented a resounding triumph for Carter, who was a healthy scratch as recently as Nov. 18.
A few weeks shy of his 39th birthday on Jan. 1, Carter has taken on a lesser role this season as a bottom-six forward in the twilight of a marvelous career. A two-time All-Star, Carter was primarily a top-six forward throughout most of his 19 seasons in the NHL.
“He’s just a really good pro,” Sullivan said. “He recognizes the circumstance and he wants to do anything he can to help the team win. So, he’s willing to embrace any role we ask him to play. That’s a great example for all of us that we can learn from.
“It’s another way that he leads.”
Guentzel secured victory with an empty net score at 18:37 of the final period. Forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Marcus Pettersson were credited with assists.
Jarry made 19 saves on 21 shots, elevating his record to 9-10-2.
Cooley, the third overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, opened the contest in the starting lineup and took the opening faceoff against Crosby, the man whose “Little Penguins” program for youth players in the area aided Cooley’s development more than a decade ago.
Logging 16:34 of ice time on 18 shifts, Cooley had no shots on four attempts and was 0 for 6 on faceoffs, including that opener against Crosby.
Regardless of the result, the evening was clearly profound for Cooley.
“It’s a pretty special feeling,” Cooley said. “Crosby is a guy that I watched a lot. To take the first draw against him was pretty special. It’s a special night for my family too. I had family and friends here. It’s a night that we’ll remember for a while.”
The Penguins had not scored a power-play goal for a while entering Tuesday.
They’d like to avoid any similar slumps.
“We can’t relax now that we’ve got (some),” Guentzel said. “We’ve got to get some momentum here. To get two is huge. We’ve got to build off this and keep moving.”
Notes:
• The Penguins have won 11 consecutive games against the Coyotes, their longest active winning streak against any one opponent.
• The Penguins’ most recent loss to the Coyotes was a 4-3 overtime road loss on Feb. 11, 2017.
• Their longest winning streaks against any franchise all-time are a pair of 14-game stretches against the Atlanta Thrashers (Jan. 27, 2000 to Nov. 22, 2002) and the Ottawa Senators (Jan. 3, 1994 to April 11, 1996).
• Carter’s last short-handed goal came in an 11-2 home win against the Detroit Red Wings on March 27, 2022. Current Penguins backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was in net for the Red Wings.
-The last player to score a power-play and short-handed goal in the same game for the Penguins was Guentzel. He double-dipped in a 5-2 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 12, 2019.
• Pettersson (99 points) surpassed forwards Colby Armstrong and German Titov (98 each) for 94th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.
• Jarry took his first penalty of the season – a tripping minor against Zucker – at 13:56 of the first period.
• The Penguins’ scratches were forwards Marc Johnstone (healthy), Bryan Rust (undisclosed injury) and defenseman Ryan Shea (healthy).