Penguins defeat Coyotes with Maatta's late goal

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Olli Maatta was just trying to get the puck to the net. He was as surprised as everyone else when it went into the net.
Maatta scored the tiebreaking goal on a slap shot from the left point with 14.8 seconds remaining, and the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

"It's nice to get some puck luck," Maatta said. "We gave them two freebies and we shouldn't do that, but we just hung in there and kept going."
WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Coyotes highlights]
Carter Rowney, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins (17-14-3), who rebounded after blowing a two-goal lead.
Nick Cousins and Max Domi scored for the Coyotes (7-23-5), who lost their sixth straight game and are 1-7-2 in their past 10.

Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta said he tried to get his stick on Maatta's shot to deflect it to the corner. Instead, he deflected it into the net.
"When you make that kind of mistake, it's tough because you kind of let your whole team down," said Raanta, who broke his stick over the crossbar after the goal and then sat in the locker room without removing his equipment long after his teammates had departed. "I think it was probably going wide. Reactions took part there.
"That's pretty unlucky, but you need to learn from your mistakes and hopefully that will never happen again."
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead when Rowney scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 rush at 14:38 of the second period. After Coyotes forward Max Domi lost a puck battle high in the Penguins zone, Bryan Rust fed Rowney at the right post for a shot past Raanta.
Malkin made it 2-0 with 1:02 left in the second when he knocked the rebound of his own shot off Raanta's stick paddle and into the net.

Cousins cut the Penguins lead to 2-1 with nine seconds left in the period. With Oliver Ekman-Larsson going hard to the net, Cousins pulled up at the left face-off circle, minus one glove, and took a wrist shot that hit the crossbar and dropped into the net.
Cousins, who was junior teammates with Penguins goalie Matt Murray for three seasons with Sault Ste. Marie in the Ontario Hockey League, said he told Murray in warmups he was going high to the glove side.
"He just sort of laughed," Cousins said. "It's funny how it worked out."
Domi tied the game 2-2 at 9:43 of the third period with his third goal, second since the season opener at the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 5. He hadn't scored since an empty-net goal in a 4-1 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 20.

The Penguins had four power plays through the first two periods but didn't score. Forward Jake Guentzel had their best chance, but he hit the crossbar with a wrist shot from the slot at 10:19 of the second period.
The Coyotes have the best penalty kill in the NHL since Oct. 31 (89.23 percent; 58-for-65 in 23 games).
Crosby scored into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left to make it 4-2.

Goal of the game

Rowney's shorthanded goal at 14:38 of the second period.

Save of the game

Murray stopping Jordan Martinook at 17:12 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Cousins' goal at 19:51 of the second period.

They said it

"It was a little discouraging when they tied it up. I thought we controlled a lot of the play for a lot of the night. It was just one of those nights. I really liked out stick-to-itiveness. We just went back to work." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"That's the life of the Coyote right now. We have to build off these experiences. We're going to build character on these losses." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet on losing the game on a late goal

Need to know

Coyotes forward Christian Fischer played with a full shield to protect a cut on his face after a puck hit him in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. … Crosby, who has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in his past 12 games, has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 16 games against Arizona.

What's next

Penguins:At the Colorado Avalanche on Monday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-F, NHL.TV)