Comeback effort spoiled by late goal as Coyotes fall to Penguins

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The reigning Stanley Cup Champions were leading 2-1 in the third period.

Clayton Keller skated across the front of Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray, and his feed to Max Domi resulted in a goal — Domi’s first since Nov. 20 — to tie things up.

The Coyotes had life.

But any hope of Arizona stealing at least a point in what once was a lopsided affair quickly went out the window when Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta scored from the point to make it 3-2 — with just 15 seconds left in regulation.

“When you make that kind of mistake it’s tough because you’re going to let your whole team down,” Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta said of his allowed goal. “It’s a rough one for sure.”

Raanta had more than one highlight-reel save to keep his team in the game, but it was the one he didn’t make that was the defining moment in the Penguins’ win. Raanta finished the night having stopped 29 of 32 shots faced.

😁🚨😁🚨😁🚨😁🚨😁 pic.twitter.com/F6MuNGR3j3

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 17, 2017

A scoreless first period wasn’t without its chances for either team, as the ‘Yotes and Pens traded scoring chances while Pittsburgh had the greater shot total in the frame, 9-5. It was in that period that Max Domi took exception to a hard hit on Keller, and he made sure Pittsburgh’s Chad Ruhwedel knew it.

Mess with @ClaytonKeller37, you're going to hear from @Max_Domi. pic.twitter.com/wQ5iLiieOZ

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 17, 2017

Domi got two for roughing, a penalty the Coyotes would kill.

Coyotes in the penalty box continued to be a recurring theme, as did successful penalty kills. Arizona held Pittsburgh to 0-for-4 on power plays and have now killed off 57 of their last 64 penalties.

In the second, Pittsburgh was buzzing. But despite more power play chances, the Penguins waited until they were shorthanded to open the scoring. Bryan Rust picked the puck off from Domi and carried it up the left wing before dishing a pass over to Carter Rowney. Rowney buried it past Raanta, and it was 1-0 Pittsburgh at 14:38.

Later in the middle period, Pittsburgh doubled their lead with just over a minute left. A shot and rebound created a scramble in front of Raanta, and Evgeni Malkin poked it in net to make it 2-0.

Although late-period goals can be deflating, Arizona got one right back. With mere seconds to go, Nick Cousins held the puck at the circle on the left side before firing it past Murray. At 19:51 in the second, Arizona cut its deficit in half.

Cousins and Murray were once teammates in juniors.

“I saw him there in warm-ups and I said ‘high glove tonight.’ It’s pretty funny actually,” Cousins said. “And he just sort of laughed so, it’s funny how it worked out.”

The Coyotes were right back in it, even though Pittsburgh outshot the Coyotes in the second period, 17-6.

In the third, the dynamic of the game changed. The Coyotes were outshooting Pittsburgh for much of the frame and eventually got the game-tying goal.

“I thought our third period was our best period,” Tocchet said. “We didn’t really give them that much. [We] climbed back in it.”

Though, in the end, a long sequence of chances for the Penguins in the closing minutes caught up to the Coyotes.

An empty-netter from Sidney Crosby sealed the 4-2 Penguins victory.

“It’s been a season like that. It’s going to build character,” Tocchet said. “We’re going to weed this thing out and we’re going to build character on these losses. They’re tough, I’ll tell ya, though. They’re tough.”

LOOSE PUCKS

–Saturday was Jordan Martinook’s 200th NHL game.

–D-backs reliever Archie Bradley was in the house, and he participated in the Coyotes’ on-ice entertainment at first intermission.

#Dbacks pitcher Archie Bradley wins the #Coyotes’ human bowling challenge at first intermission. #Yotes pic.twitter.com/1MEdK19cy9

— Matt J. Layman (@mattjlayman) December 17, 2017

–Domi was playing center on a line with Christian Fischer and Clayton Keller. He was a center in juniors but hadn’t seen time there in the NHL until Saturday.

“He asked me if I wanted to play center and I said ‘Sure.’ That’s it,” Domi said of how it came about. Tocchet said that decision was made the morning of the game.

UP NEXT

Arizona will host former Coyotes Keith Yandle and Radim Vrbata as the Florida Panthers come to town on Tuesday evening. The Panthers (12-15-5) next play on Sunday in Vegas before heading to Arizona.

From there, the Coyotes will host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Friday and the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

Follow @mattjlayman