Penguins defeat Coyotes on Kessel OT goal

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Phil Kessel scored on the power play with 50 seconds left in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Friday.

Kessel redirected a Sidney Crosby shot with Arizona's Richard Panik in the penalty box for hooking Brian Dumoulin to win it for Pittsburgh (26-15-6), which had lost its previous two games.
"We kept them off the (score) sheet (until the Kessel goal), those guys," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We did a heck]*
Juuso Riikola and Jake Guentzel scored 40 seconds apart in the second period for the Penguins, and Matt Murray made 30 saves for his 10th win in his past 11 starts.
"It was huge for us," Guentzel said. "We had two games there where we needed to be better, and we knew that. It's definitely nice to get this one tonight. It was good to get these two points."

Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan scored for the Coyotes (21-22-4), who are 4-1-2 in their past seven games. Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves in his first loss in five starts.
Stepan tied it 2-2 at 14:34 of the third period when he scored off the rebound of a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot.
"Two points would have been nicer, but to come back in the third and tie it up and get the point, it's huge right now," Kuemper said. "We know how tight the (Western Conference) standings are, we're hungry, and we're playing like it."
Keller took a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson as they switched positions on a 4-on-3 power play and scored his second goal in 22 games to put Arizona ahead 1-0 at 12:51 of the first. It was Keller's 100th NHL point.
"I think we scratched and clawed. I liked our first (period), I liked our third," Tocchet said. "They've got star players over there, and we had a chance to win in overtime, a couple of chances there. … Whether it was a point or not, I liked our effort."

Riikola scored his second NHL goal on the power play at 4:58 of the second period to tie it 1-1.
"He can really shoot the puck. That's something we recognized in training camp, early on, he can really shoot the puck," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Riikola, a rookie defenseman.
Pittsburgh outshot Arizona 13-4 in the second.
"The second period, I think, was one of the best periods we played all year," Murray said.
Guentzel put the Penguins ahead 2-1 at 5:38 when he scored from along the goal line off the rebound of his own backhand shot.
"[Kuemper] made a good save, and I was just trying to throw it on net. I knew it was a bad angle, I don't know if it hit anything or not," said Guentzel, whose 24 goals lead Pittsburgh. "It was nice to get one."
Panik appeared to tie the game when he scored at 3:41 of the third period, but Sullivan challenged for goalie interference by Ekman-Larsson, and the goal was overturned after video review.

They said it

"We're real encouraged. We think he's gained his form. He looks so confident in there, he's tracking pucks well, he's got a calm demeanor. He made some big saves tonight. A 2-on-1 save (against Alex Galchenyuk) in overtime, that's a game-changer." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on goalie Matt Murray

"That's a really tough team to beat over there. It's good to see us not take the night off after a big win (Wednesday) against [the] San Jose [Sharks]. We're playing good hockey right now. We want to take it a step at a time and keep moving forward." -- Coyotes forward Clayton Keller
"I've kind of been fighting for a bounce to lay for me, waiting for that moment to get rewarded. Tonight, the puck laid there for me, and I got the bounce." -- Coyotes center Derek Stepan on his first goal in 12 games

Need to know

The Penguins are 13-4-0 in their past 17 games. ... Kessel has seven goals and eight assists during an 11-game point streak against the Coyotes. ... Crosby has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 18 games against Arizona. ... Pittsburgh allowed at least four goals in four of its previous five games. ... Guentzel has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in the past 14 games. ... Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist (concussion) was held out for the fourth consecutive game after practicing Thursday. He may play Saturday at the Vegas Golden Knights. ... Keller reached 100 points in his 132nd game, the fastest in Coyotes history. Max Domi reached the milestone in his 154th game.

What's next

Penguins: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)