Kris Letang scored twice, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each had a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins erupted for four third-period goals Tuesday to earn their sixth straight win, 6-3 over the visiting Arizona Coyotes.
Brock McGinn and Brian Boyle also scored while Evgeni Malkin and Evan Rodrigues added two assists each for the Penguins, who have won 17 of their past 19 games.
Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 13 saves.
Nick Schmaltz had two goals and an assist while Clayton Keller contributed a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who lost their third straight.
Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots.
Schmaltz gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 8:23 into the second period. He finished off a tic-tac-toe play with Keller and Travis Boyd from the lower part of the right circle.
Rust tied it 1-1 at 11:31 of the second with a power-play goal off a spectacular setup by Crosby. Stationed at the left post with his back to the net, Crosby sent a blind, between-the-legs, backward pass through the skates of Arizona defenseman Anton Stralman to Rust in the far circle. Rust scored near side from the dot.
During a five-on-three advantage, Keller restored the Coyotes’ lead at 16:22 of the second on a lofted shot from the lower part of the right circle. That made it 2-1.
Letang tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal from the inside edge of the left circle, with 1:42 left in the second.
Schmaltz struck again at 2:54 of the third for a 3-2 Arizona lead. He moved to his right and swept the puck back the other way behind Jarry.
McGinn tied it 3-3 at 4:53 of the third on a 12-foot shot that fluttered past Vejmelka’s blocker.
At 7:10 of the third, Crosby gave Pittsburgh its first lead, 4-3, off a give-and-go with Rust.
Letang struck again at 11:36 of the third, on a one-timer from the left circle, to make it 5-3.
Boyle flipped a backhander between his legs and past Vejmelka at 13:42 of the third to cap the scoring.
–Field Level Media
