The Pittsburgh Penguins snuffed out their own comeback attempt before it could even get started on Monday night.
Down 3-2 with four minutes gone in the third period, Arizona Coyotes forward Jason Zucker took a hooking penalty that would have put the Penguins on a power play with the chance to tie the game.
Instead, disaster struck for the Penguins in a hilarious, Carl Hagelin-esque manner. Franchise greats Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin decided to play a dangerous game of catch in front of their own vacated net after netminder Tristan Jarry departed for an extra skater on the delayed call.
One bobble later and the Coyotes were up 4-2 without having to even touch the puck.
The play started with Letang circling the Pittsburgh defensive zone as the Penguins readied a rush up the ice. Malkin, his longtime teammate, set up for a drop pass to start the breakout.
Instead of sliding the puck to Malkin’s tape, Letang’s feed handcuffed the big Russian and caused him to try and accept the pass on his backhand. The rest is, as they say, history.
“IT WENT IN,” play-by-play man Matt McConnell screamed. “OH MY GOODNESS.”
Letang shared the same sentiment as McConnell but in a much less excited, much more exasperated way. The veteran blueliner could be seen mouthing, “Oh, my god,” into his glove before returning to the Pittsburgh bench.
Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse was given credit for the goal, his 18th of the season. Uniquely, Crouse gets the unassisted tally but will not have a shot on goal on the scoresheet for the play.
The marker also counts as a power-play goal for Crouse given that the delayed penalty call was going to make the game four-on-four for a spell before the Penguins gained the man advantage. Penguins forward Jansen Harkins was in the box for hooking Logan Cooley just a minute before the own goal.
The Coyotes would add one more goal from Nick Bjugstad three minutes later and wrap up a 5-2 home victory.
