TEMPE, Ariz. — It may have come inside a college venue, but the Penguins’ first win of 2023 must’ve felt like it happened at PPG Paints Arena.
In front of a majority Pittsburgh-cheering crowd in Tempe at Mullett Arena on Arizona State’s campus, the Penguins ended their six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday night. Jake Guentzel, who hadn’t scored a goal since knotting two against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 15, led the way by matching that scoring output against the Coyotes.
Guentzel’s first score served as the equalizer, as Arizona drew the night’s opening goal from an unlikely contributor. A spiraling 50-50 puck found its way to Clayton Keller’s stick, who then shoveled a pass toward the front of the net in the direction of Barrett Hayton.
Hayton, who entered the evening with just two goals on the season in 38 games, knocked down Keller’s aerial pass before the puck trickled into the net past Casey DeSmith just five minutes and change into the contest to provide the Coyotes with the opening tally.
But Guentzel evened the score, with his first goal coming courtesy of Sidney Crosby. An Arizona turnover gave the puck to Jan Rutta at the point, who delivered a pass through a pair of Coyotes to Crosby at the front of the Coyotes’ crease. Crosby quickly dished off to Guentzel for his 16th goal of the year.
Guentzel’s second goal also received some assistance from Crosby, though Bryan Rust received the primary assist. Crosby found Rust at the high slot, who then dished off to Guentzel in between the face-off circle and the crease.
Surprisingly, Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka rose from his butterfly set up, which gave Guentzel the opportunity to beat the netminder through his five-hole.
Jason Zucker doubled Pittsburgh’s advantage with 9:02 to go in regulation. Dangling the puck for what seemed to be an eternity, Zucker flipped a backhanded shot over Vejmelka’s blocker to give Pittsburgh a more comfortable lead and prompt fans to break out a few “Let’s Go Penguins” chants.
Jeff Carter got an empty-net goal after Arizona pulled Vejmelka to round out the night’s scoring in the Penguins’ winning effort.
ICE CHIPS
— Jeff Petry, who was eligible to come off long-term injured reserve on Sunday, did not play against the Coyotes. Petry, who skated Sunday morning, has now missed 11 straight games for the Penguins.
— Ryan Poehling made the trip with the team but did not play in any of the Penguins’ three games as he continues to work back from an upper-body injury.
— With Tristan Jarry still sidelined with a lower-body injury, DeSmith made his second start in a row for only the second time this season. The last time he did so was for a set of two games in three days at Washington and at Toronto in November. DeSmith won both of those starts, letting up three goals on 55 shots. He’s now 3-1 when starting consecutive games this season.
— Rutta’s assist provided the defensive-minded blueliner with just his seventh point of the season. Entering Sunday night with three goals and as many assists on the year, Rutta hadn’t registered a point in 11 games.
— The Penguins’ power-play units once again produced a donut. Pittsburgh entered Sunday evening 0 for 15 on the power play over the last three games and couldn’t muster any goals on six chances with a one-man advantage versus the Coyotes, nor could they net one during 32 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey after consecutive Arizona penalties in the second period.
— Brock McGinn was shaken up in the second period after some friendly fire on a shot by Brian Dumoulin. Though McGinn gingerly skated back to the bench, he stayed in for the rest of the game.
— Pittsburgh was a perfect 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. Against Vegas on Thursday night, the Penguins took just one penalty, but it led to a power-play goal by the Golden Knights. Pittsburgh’s special teams was a mixed bag.
STAT N’AT
2 — Guentzel’s pair of scores ended an eight-game goalless streak for the team’s second-leading scorer. Trailing only Crosby, who has 20 goals, Guentzel upped his season count to 17 scores.
COMING UP
The Penguins will return to Pittsburgh on Monday, marking the end of their three-game road trip. It’ll be a quick turnaround for the team, too, as the Penguins will host the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
