Boeser's hat trick lifts Canucks past Penguins
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Rookie Brock Boeser had a hat trick and added an assist as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak.
Bo Horvat had a goal and three assists, and Sven Baertschi had three assists for the Canucks (7-4-2), who had lost four straight games against the Penguins.
It was the first hat trick of Boeser's career. He leads Vancouver with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) and has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 19 games as a Canuck.
Jake Guentzel and Greg McKegg scored for the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins (8-6-2), who ended a season-high, five-game road trip 1-3-1.
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 37 stops for Vancouver. Matthew Murray made 17 saves for the Penguins.
McKegg tied the game 2-2 off the deflection of a Ryan Reaves' shot at 4:19 of the third period.
But Boeser gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead just 1:07 later. He took a pass from Horvat in the slot and beat Murray on the blocker side with a shot through traffic.
Horvat scored at 16:29 off a pass from Beartschi to make it 4-2.
The teams exchanged first period goals.
The Penguins used some pretty passing to open the scoring on a power play at 2:53. Evgeni Malkin sent a rink-wide pass that Sidney Crosby redirected between his legs to Phil Kessel on the far boards. Kessel spotted Guentzel at the side of the net and he put the puck past Markstrom.
The Canucks tied the game at 7:07 following a turnover at the Pittsburgh blue line. Horvat picked up the puck and fed it to Boeser. He skated around defenseman Kris Letang and beat Murray.
Boeser scored again at 7:14 of the second to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead. Horvat threw a pass into the slot from behind the Penguin net that Baertschi chipped to Boeser at the side of the net. With Murray out of position, Boeser scored from a sharp angle.
NOTES: With G Anders Nilsson's wife expecting a baby the Canucks called up G Thatcher Demko from the Utica Comets of the AHL. ... D Alex Biega became just the eighth player taken in the fifth round or higher of the 2006 draft to play in his 100th NHL game. ... D Patrick Wiercioch and C Jayson Megna were healthy scratches for Vancouver. ... G Matthew Murray shut out the Canucks both times he faced them last year. ... Penguins D Frank Corrado went to the dressing room early in the second period after falling face first into the boards but returned to action. ... Pittsburgh RW Phil Kessel also went to the dressing room in the second period after banging his head on the ice but returned for the third.