Logan Cooley’s hat trick lifts Mammoth past Penguins 4-3 in overtime
Ben Kindel scored late in his return, but Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley answered with one second left to force overtime.
PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-2, 4-1-1 home) were one second away from sweeping their three-game homestand before the Utah Mammoth (9-5-0, 5-3-0 away) stunned them 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley tied the game with one second left in regulation to complete his hat trick, and Mikhail Sergachev won it 3:27 into overtime. Read more: Logan Cooley’s hat trick lifts Mammoth past Penguins 4-3 in overtime.
Utah strikes first in the rematch
The Penguins played the Mammoth in Utah on October 19 and lost 5-4 after rallying from a 4-2 deficit at the start of the third period. The Penguins scored first in the first match, but the Mammoth took control early at PPG Paints Arena.
Utah killed off a penalty on Clayton Keller against Nick Robertson in the first minute, and Cooley scored his fifth goal of the season unassisted 4:40 into the first period.
Cooley scored again at 14:11, with assists from Lawson Crouse and Andrew Peeke, to make it 2-0. The assist came in Peeke’s 400th career NHL game. Both teams had nine shots in the first period, but Utah blocked 11 shots to Pittsburgh’s zero and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
Karlsson, Rakell pull Pittsburgh even
The Penguins finally broke through at 8:38 of the second period. Evgeni Malkin and Ben Kindel connected in the offensive zone, and Kindel dropped the puck back to Erik Karlsson, who beat Sebastian Cossa to cut the lead to 2-1. Both of Karlsson’s goals this season have come against Utah.
Arturs Silovs kept it a one-goal game through the middle of the second, making key stops on Nick Schmaltz and Crouse.
The Penguins tied it shorthanded in the third period. With Karlsson in the box, Rakell took off on a 2-on-1 with Robertson and finished it himself at 10:59 for his third goal of the season, unassisted, to make it 2-2.
Kindel’s go-ahead goal erased in the final second
Kindel gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 19:35 of the third period, finishing a 3-on-2 rush with assists from Malkin and Egor Chinakhov. It was Kindel’s third goal of the season, in his first game back since collapsing on the team flight from Utah on October 20.
The lead lasted 24 seconds. With Utah’s net empty, Cooley jumped on a rebound of a Vincent Trocheck shot at the left side of the crease and knocked it in with one second left to force overtime. Trocheck and Keller assisted on Cooley’s seventh goal of the season. Cooley is the third Pittsburgh native to record a hat trick against the Penguins, per the AP.
Sergachev wins it in overtime
Sergachev ended it 3:27 into overtime, beating Silovs on a rebound from the right circle. Silovs finished with 30 saves in his fourth straight start, while Cossa made 31 saves for Utah.
Utah dominated the physical side of the game, outhitting Pittsburgh 25-7, and won 58.2% of the faceoffs. Pittsburgh still earned a point, finished the homestand 2-0-1, and has points in three straight games.
Lineup notes
Malkin returned after missing the Nashville game with an illness and finished with two assists. Kindel and defenseman Sam Girard were activated from injured reserve on Thursday. Girard had missed the last three games after going into the boards against Vegas. Chinakhov also returned after missing four of the last five games with a lower-body injury and picked up an assist.
Sidney Crosby did not record a point, so he remains tied with Ray Bourque at 1,111 assists with one franchise.
Up next
The Penguins hit the road to face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at the Bell Centre at 7 p.m. ET.
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Trent Conner is a skilled writer with years of experience covering various sports. Based in West Virginia, he provides insightful analysis and expert predictions, with a focus on West Virginia University athletics. Trent stays on top of the latest trends and is passionate about delivering engaging and informative sports content.
This column was written by Trent Conner. It was fact-checked and copy edited by the Disruptor Sports desk working with Claude, a generative AI model made by Anthropic. How our newsroom works.
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