Malkin, Crosby too much for Canucks

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks had two of their most promising young players back in the lineup Saturday, but that didn’t appear to matter against the veteran star power of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, leading his Penguins (6-1-2) to a 5-0 rout of the Canucks (6-6-0), who saw Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson make their returns from injury.

Sidney Crosby also scored twice and Phil Kessel found the back of the net once.

The Penguins are simply a really good team, Canucks head coach Travis Green said.

“They’ve got some world-class players that can score if you give them the chance,” he said.

The Canucks started off strong, holding the Penguins to a scoreless first period, but Vancouver couldn’t seem to solve Pittsburgh netminder Casey DeSmith, who stopped all 29 shots he faced Saturday for his second NHL shutout.

“I thought we came out fast and spent a lot of time in their zone,” Green said.

“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to find a way to put a puck in the back of the net.”

The 27-year-old backup said he wanted another crack at the Canucks after dropping the last decision between the two teams on Oct. 16.

That game saw Boeser beat DeSmith 34 seconds into overtime.

The victory completes a clean sweep for the Penguins on their four-stop Canadian road trip.