Do you like penalties and special teams? If so, then the game between the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins was for you.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Entering the contest, both teams have struggled mightily with Pittsburgh losing in their last four contests and Arizona being on a three-game skid.
The Penguins power play was the sticking point coming into tonight as they were only converting 9.5% of the time.
However, not only did it awaken all of a sudden tonight, but they were lethal.
With only a single goal this season, Penguins veteran Jeff Carter broke out of his slump by scoring twice, one while shorthanded and the other on the power play. Additionally, left wing Jake Guentzel buried two himself.
The officials did not stop blowing their whistles as the game was engulfed by penalties, and eventually being decided by special teams.
Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli responded on the man advantage to tie the game 2-2, but that was it for the Coyotes’ offense.
Following the first intermission, Pittsburgh set the tone for the remainder of the night by dishing out physicality with bone-crunching hits and defensively shutting down the Coyotes.
Carter checked ‘Yotes defenseman Juuso Välimäki from behind viciously, and Penguins winger Rielly Smith welcomed Logan Cooley back to his hometown of Pittsburgh with a huge collision near center ice.
Unlike their previous three games where they only scored three times, the Penguins offense elevated to another level as they dealt ‘Yotes goaltender Connor Ingram with a heavy, 43-shot workload.
At even strength, the lone goal 5-on-5 was an empty-netter by Guentzel towards the conclusion.
Arizona exerted more tenacity and energy as the game progressed, but were unable to consistently keep the puck in the offensive zone and cause havoc.
As a result, Pittsburgh improve to 12-12-3 on the year while the Coyotes have dropped four-straight games, falling to 13-13-2.
Up next, Pittsburgh make a quick turnaround as they face the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, the Coyotes have a two-day break before they host the San Jose Sharks on Friday at Mullett Arena.
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Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
