National Hockey League
Arizona 4, Pittsburgh 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 11, 2017
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Frederic L'Ecuyer, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Trent Knorr
Attendance: 15879

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There were 10 scouts in attendance when the Arizona Coyotes hosted the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins before 15,879 fans on Saturday at Gila River Arena.

Many were likely there to watch Coyotes center Martin Hanzal, who is playing with an expiring contract and has had no talks of a new deal with the Coyotes since last summer.

With 17 days remaining before the NHL's March 1 trade deadline, Hanzal made a strong case for his value.

Connor Murphy scored his first goal of the season with 21.8 seconds left in overtime to give Arizona a 4-3 win, but Hanzal scored twice and kept Penguins star Sidney Crosby off the score sheet in the key matchup of the game.

"He was a monster for us tonight," said Coyotes goalie Mike Smith, who made 28 saves but had made a late mistake that allowed the Penguins to salvage a point. "Right from the drop of the puck he was engaged in the game. He led by example out there tonight and that's what we need from him."

Tobias Rieder contributed the other goal for the Coyotes, who improved to 5-2-1 in their last eight games.

Rookie Josh Archibald scored twice for the Penguins in his second career game and Phil Kessel also had a late goal to force overtime. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which is 4-0-2 in its last six games.

Crosby was shut out for the second straight game, leaving him stuck on 998 career points. It's the first time Crosby has been held without a point in back-to-back games since Feb. 24 and 27, 2016.

"Give Arizona a lot of credit. They played extremely hard tonight," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "They got some timely saves throughout the course of the game and that made this a different game."

Pittsburgh grabbed a 1-0 at 5:41 of the first period when Archibald cleaned up a rebound of Eric Fehr's initial shot with a backhand into the upper corner of the net for his first NHL goal.

Archibald was recalled from Wilkes Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Rieder tied the game 59 seconds later when his wrist shot off a two-on-one rush found the upper corner of the net with Penguins defenseman Ian Cole providing a ramp with his stick blade. Rieder has four goals in six career games against Pittsburgh.

Arizona has scored at least one second-period goal in nine straight games, 18 second-period goals in that stretch and eight in the past three games.

Hanzal gave Arizona a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal at nine minutes when he swept the rebound of Radim Vrbata's shot from the point under Fleury's pad for his 11th goal of the season.

Hanzal widened the lead to 3-1 at 3:36 of the second period when he deflected Oliver Ekman-Larsson's shot up over Fleury's shoulder and then dived to sweep the puck from the crease into the net.

"Offense is the best defense," said Hanzal, who missed the previous game with the flu. "After we scored the second goal, we were kind of sitting back, but that's not the way we should play. We should go after them."

Archibald scored his second goal of the night short-handed with 5:22 left in the third period when Smith mishandled the puck in front of his own net trying to make a pass. Smith lost the puck and all Archibald had to do was put it into an open net.

"We were told before the game to pressure him and sometimes he'll cough the puck up," Archibald said. "I guess I put a little too much pressure on him and he gave it right to me."

Kessel banged in a rebound of Jake Guentzel's shot to force overtime with 14.2 seconds left in regulation and Fleury pulled for an extra attacker, but the Penguins squandered an overtime power play before Murphy's shot from the left wing eluded Fleury.

NOTES: Despite two promising practices this week and positive appraisal from coach Mike Sullivan, Penguins C Evgeni Malkin was out of the lineup for a seventh straight game a lower-body injury. ... Sullivan also made an unexpected switch, starting G Marc-Andre Fleury in goal after Matt Murray was projected to start. ... Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald attended Saturday's game for Larry Fitzgerald bobblehead night. Fitzgerald attended the University of Pittsburgh. ... Coyotes C Martin Hanzal returned to the lineup after a one-game absence to an undisclosed illness. ... Penguins RW Bryan Rust (upper body) did not play and will be re-evaluated back in Pittsburgh after sustaining the injury Thursday in Denver. ... Penguins LW Carl Hagelin (concussion) is day to day. ... Pittsburgh LW Conor Sheary (upper body) is out until March. ... RW Shane Doan played in his 1,519th NHL game with the Coyotes/Jets franchise, the fourth-most of any player with one franchise. ... Coyotes D Kevin Connauton replaced D Jakob Chychrun in the lineup, marking his first game since Jan. 19 -- a stretch of eight games.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Arizona
Josh Archibald 2 Points Martin Hanzal 2
Josh Archibald 2 Goals Martin Hanzal 2
Eric Fehr 1 Assists Oliver Ekman-Larsson 2
N/A Power Play Goals Martin Hanzal 1
Josh Archibald 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .840 Save Percentage Mike Smith .903
Marc-Andre Fleury 21 Saves Mike Smith 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 31 3 0-4 3-4 8 37
Arizona 25 4 1-4 4-4 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .314 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Penguins have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .700 after a loss.