Coyotes can’t slow Penguins down in 3rd period, fall on road in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang led a four-goal, third-period barrage to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh trailed early in the third before its offensive show, when Letang scored twice and Crosby netted his 11th for the Penguins, who won their sixth straight game.

Pittsburgh has 17 wins in its last 19 games. Bryan Rust and Brock McGinn both scored their 10th goals of the season and Brian Boyle added a third-period goal. Tristan Jarry stopped 13 shots.

Arizona’s Clayton Keller scored his 16th goal and added an assist, and Nick Schmaltz also scored. Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for Arizona, which has lost three straight and five of its last seven games.

Crosby made it a 4-3 game with a give-and-go with Rust at 7:10 of the third. A streaking Rust took a pass from Crosby and returned it to the Penguins’ captain, who quickly buried a wrist shot from the slot.

Letang gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead with about nine minutes left in the third with his second goal of the game. He took a pass from Evan Rodrigues and sent a blocker-side wrist shot past a diving Vejmelka.

Schmaltz gave Arizona a 3-2 lead at 2:54 of the third period following a sloppy Pittsburgh turnover in the neutral zone. But McGinn tied it at 4:53 when he slid a backhander past Vejmelka.

Then, Crosby and Letang took over for Pittsburgh.

Letang has four goals and 17 points in his last 12 games. Crosby has six goals and 10 points in his last six overall.

Schmaltz opened the scoring at 8:23 of the second period, and the teams closed the second with three power-play goals.

Rust tied the game on the man advantage at 11:31 of the second, but Arizona regained the lead, 2-1, with about four minutes left thanks to Keller’s power-play goal while Crosby and Jake Guentzel were in the penalty box.

Keller, who will represent the Coyotes in the All-Star game, has 13 goals and 27 points in his last 25 games for Arizona.

Letang evened the score, 2-2, with a power-play goal at 18:18 of the second when his wrist shot hit Vejmelka’s glove and fluttered into the net.