'I should know better': Letang, Pens address own goal

The Pittsburgh Penguins ended up on the highlight reel for all the wrong reasons after allowing a disastrous own goal to the Arizona Coyotes during Monday's 5-2 defeat.

Lars Eller, who could only watch helplessly from the bench as his teammates scored on the wrong net, offered a blunt assessment of the gaffe.

"Shit happens," he said, per Pittsburgh Hockey Now's Dan Kingerski.

The blunder occurred with the Coyotes on a delayed penalty early in the third period and Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry on the bench to give his team an extra attacker. Workhorse defenseman Kris Letang controlled the puck in Pittsburgh's zone when he chucked a pass behind him to Evgeni Malkin. The veteran forward couldn't corral the puck and inadvertently directed it into the net.

The result was a two-goal lead for the Coyotes and, ultimately, a second-straight loss for the Penguins.

"If you look at it, my pass was going in the corner; it was not going in the net," Letang said of the miscue. "But I should know better. I should not go backward when there's no goalie."

Bench boss Mike Sullivan said his team should have been more cognizant of the situation, adding the Penguins' response after the error was "not good enough."

"I think we just have to have a heightened awareness that we don't have a goalie in the net in that scenario," Sullivan said. "We've got to try to avoid making plays in that area. I think if we have a heightened awareness, then we don't fall victim to a bad bounce or whatever it may be."

The Penguins also suffered a frustrating loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Pittsburgh carried a 2-0 lead heading into the third period of the contest, but the reigning Stanley Cup champions scored three unanswered goals to win in regulation.

Despite the demoralizing nature of the Penguins' last four periods, Sullivan refused to look down on his squad.

"I'm not discouraged," he said. "I believe in this group. I think we have good players. I believe we have what it takes to win consistently. Obviously, we're disappointed with the last four periods; we recognize that it's not our best.

"I don't think discouraged is a word that should enter our dressing room. I think we've just got to get more determined."

The Penguins have lost four of their last five games and are five points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though they have games in hand.

Pittsburgh's next chance at redemption comes Friday against the Florida Panthers at home.