Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley scored with one second remaining in regulation to cap his fourth career hat trick, then Mikhail Sergachev tallied 3:27 into overtime to lift the visiting Utah Mammoth to a stunning 4-3 victory over the Penguins on Thursday.
With time winding down, Vincent Trocheck wired a shot from above the right circle, producing a rebound that an unmarked Cooley converted from the left doorstep.
In overtime, Barrett Hayden initially was denied on a 3-on-1 rush before Sergachev converted from deep in the right circle to end the game.
Utah defenseman Andrew Peeke notched an assist in his 400th career NHL game and Sebastian Cossa turned aside 31 shots. Cossa was making his first appearance since finishing with 15 saves in a 5-4 win over the Penguins on Oct. 19.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Kindel nearly played the hero by scoring the go-ahead goal with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. He also had an assist in his return to the ice after collapsing while aboard the team plane on Oct. 20.
Kindel backhanded a shot on net from the left circle and skated toward the net. Evgeni Malkin was unable to convert from in close, but Kindel alertly scored from the left doorstep to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.
Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell each scored a goal, and Malkin finished with two assists.
Arturs Silovs turned aside 30 shots for the Penguins, who were foiled in their bid for a sweep of their three-game homestand.
Cooley intercepted a clearing attempt by Karlsson, skated into the offensive zone and wired a shot over the blocker of Silovs to open the scoring 4:40 into the first period.
The Penguins nearly forged a tie as Ville Koivunen’s shot caromed off the goalpost. Seconds later, however, Cooley skated between defensemen Spencer Stastney and Karlsson and snapped a shot past Silovs to give Utah a 2-0 lead with 5:49 left in the first period.
Karlsson stickhandled around Utah’s Nick Schmaltz and wired a shot from the slot to halve the deficit at 8:38 of the second period. Both of Karlsson’s goals this season have been scored against the Mammoth.
With his team short-handed, Rakell scored from the right circle off a rush to level the contest at 2-2 with 9:01 remaining in the third period.
–Field Level Media
