I had warmed up for my first ever Pens game by watching the televised games of St Louis v Minnesota, Vancouver v Los Angeles and San Jose v Montreal earlier in the day. I had found out previously that Evgeni Malkin was out of the game following a dirty hit by the Bruins' Reilly Smith a week earlier. It was beyond disappointing, but to be expected given I was looking forward to seeing one of the best players in the NHL. When you plan these games you want to see Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Olli Maatta not Craig Adams and Andrew Ebbett. To then fall behind to the worst team in the league whilst on the powerplay doesn't do your nerves much good either, but then there was a saving grace in Pizzaboy's perfect delivery.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Brandon Sutter was trying to use his head, and protect it, when he saw Coyotes goalie Mike Smith attempting to ice the puck with a shot headed right at him. But it was the other end of his body that did all the work and gave the Penguins some much-needed momentum. Smith's shot from behind the goal deflected off Sutter's rear end and landed in an empty net 8:45 into the second period. The wild play started a Penguins rally that ultimately ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Coyotes at Gila River Arena, and left Smith wishing he had stuck to shooting pizza commercials for Papa Johns. Tobias Rieder scored shorthanded for the Coyotes (21-43-8), who lost for the 17th time in the past 18 games and for the 16th time in the past 17 games at home. Smith made 34 saves and played well, but his huge gaffe overshadowed the effort. With Joe Vitale in the penalty box for Arizona, Pittsburgh's Ian Cole shot the puck hard around the boards into the Coyotes zone. Smith stopped the puck behind the net and tried to send it back out up the middle of the ice. The Penguins, who were outscored 11-2 during their four-game losing streak, got off to another slow start. Crosby drew two penalties in the first five minutes, but Pittsburgh's power play not only couldn't manage a shot, a turnover put the Penguins behind. Crosby was meant to be leading a powerplay but instead got caught in possession of the puck and could only watch on helplessly as the hapless Coyotes took a shock and undeserved lead. Down 1-0 for a fifth straight game, the Penguins were outshot 13-3 in the first period and didn't get their first shot until Crosby put one on Smith 13:12 into the game. But the second period was a complete reversal. Pittsburgh outshot the Coyotes 21-11, had eight shots in the first 5:30 and ended a 2-for-28 drought on the power play over the past 10 games when Sutter backed into Smith's clearing attempt. The Penguins sustained pressure and the bounces and momentum continued going their way. Crosby won a faceoff and pushed the bouncing puck back to Kris Letang for a one-timer. Winnik got a stick on the wobbling puck, which fluttered over Smith and under the crossbar at 12:21 to put Pittsburgh ahead for good. Winnik's eight goal of the season was his first with Pittsburgh since arriving from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a Feb. 25 trade.
On leaving the arena, I heard some Coyotes fans shouting abuse at some Penguins fans. It was along the lines of the Pens choking come playoff time. Yes the playoffs, that the Coyotes are not a part of, and will not be a part of for many years to come on this evidence. I know it must be tough watching a joke of a franchise lose to one of the best teams in the league, but really, is that all you can do? deliver douche bag comments like that? Phoenix is not a hockey market, and never will be. Whenever one of the bigger teams come into town, local Arizonans support that team over the home team. When the Red Wings or Blackhawks are in town, they take over the arena. Maybe its about time locals get behind the Coyotes team before they get relocated to Seattle or Ontario.
Pens Quotes
Brandon Sutter: "I kind of thought (Smith) was going to shoot it. I was trying to cover my face and it hit me right in the butt [his 16th goal of the season]. I've never had one like that before for sure. Those you'll take."Sidney Crosby: "Hopefully we can rally off this one and build off it. We finally got a bounce. We were due after all we've been through the last week or so. It was a good faceoff play and a good tip. The way Smith was playing tonight was pretty solid, he made some good saves. You've got to get traffic and it's tough to stop a tip like that."
Coyotes Quotes
Mike Pizzaboy Smith: "My thought process was to ice the puck, but probably the wrong time of the game and some bad decision-making. It cost us a goal and it wound up being pretty important. That one's on me. I thought I had more time than I did and everyone saw what happened. We're up 1-0 and we're struggling to score goals … it was a bad decision. If I would have rimmed the puck or even got us up, it wouldn't have hurt us. But the margin for error is so small right now, those plays matter so much."
Tobias Rieder: "I was just trying to get myself open and if (Moss) decides to shoot I'm in great position for a rebound. He made a great play and I just had to put it in."Dave Tippett: "It was a poor decision on (Smith's) part. We had an open defenseman that he probably could have moved that to. It's just one of those errors you would like to have back."
Goals
0-1 - 1:34 SHG - Tobias Rieder Asst: David Moss - David Moss stole the puck from Crosby at center ice and found Rieder flying up the right shot for a wrist shot that beat Fleury at 1:34. Rieder's 12th goal of the season was his third shorthanded, which leads all rookies and is one behind the overall lead.1-1 - 28:45 PPG - Brandon Sutter Asst: Mike Smith (heehee) - Smith's shot from behind the goal deflected off Sutter's rear end and landed in an empty net 8:45 into the second period.
2-1 - 32:21 EHG - Daniel Winnik Asst: Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby - Daniel Winnik scored a second-period goal on a deflection and Sidney Crosby had an empty-net goal with 12.1 seconds left for the Penguins, who played the entire game down a defenseman after Christian Ehrhoff was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury.
3-1 - 59:48 EN - Sidney Crosby Asst: None - Crosby clinched the game with 12 seconds left, hitting into an empty net.
Stars of the Game
1 Sidney Crosby
2 Tobias Rieder
3 Kris Letang
Stats
- Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the Penguins (40-22-10), including a glove save on Michael Stone with 57.5 seconds left to preserve a 2-1 lead and give Pittsburgh a first win since March 12.
- Crosby, who earned his 50th assist of the season on Winnik's goal and drew three penalties in the game.
- Arizona has scored one goal or less in 10 of the past 13 games and has 22 goals during its 1-16-1 slide.
Penalties
| 1st Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 00:38 ARI | Michael Stone Holding against Sidney Crosby | |
| 02:41 PIT | Beau Bennett Holding the stick against Connor Murphy | |
| 04:42 ARI | Oliver Ekman-Larsson Holding against Sidney Crosby | |
| 11:13 ARI | Shane Doan Hooking against Craig Adams | |
| 11:13 PIT | Craig Adams Holding the stick against Shane Doan | |
| 2nd Period | ||
| 07:38 ARI | Joe Vitale Tripping against Ian Cole | |
| 17:21 PIT | David Perron Tripping against Tye McGinn | |
| 3rd Period | ||
| 01:22 ARI | Mark Arcobello Tripping against Sidney Crosby | |
| 14:19 PIT | Kris Letang Hooking against Justin Hodgman | |
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