Rookie Boeser leads Canucks past Penguins
Almost 3 years exactly since Vancouver last won at Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Brock Boeser scored two more goals to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday.
Boeser, after scoring twice against Philadelphia on Tuesday, added two more and now has 11 this season. Former Penguin defenceman Derrick Pouliot scored a power-play goal, his first with Vancouver. Loui Eriksson, playing in his 800th career game, scored his second. Brandon Sutter, another former Penguin, scored an emptynet goal for the Canucks, who won in Pittsburgh for the first time since Dec. 4, 2014. Vancouver is 3-53 at home, but has won eight of 11 on the road this season.
Anders Nilsson withstood a third-period Penguins’ surge to stop 43 shots for the Canucks.
Jake Guentzel scored twice, both on the power play, for Pittsburgh and now has eight this season. The Penguins started the season with wins in seven of their first 11, but now have just four wins in their last 12.
Pittsburgh gave up two powerplay goals for the second straight game and has allowed 10 in its last six. Matt Murray stopped 32 shots for Pittsburgh.
Boeser, among the leaders in rookie goals and points, has six goals during a five-game point streak for Vancouver. He has 21 points in 19 games this season.
Pouliot scored his first of the year in the waning seconds of a power play in the second period.
The Penguins selected Pouliot No. 8 overall in the 2012 NHL draft, but traded the 23-year-old defenceman to Vancouver in October after things didn’t work out in Pittsburgh. Pouliot, with two goals and 14 points in 67 games for Pittsburgh the past three seasons, appeared in two Stanley Cup playoff games in 2016 when the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks to win the first of back-toback championships.
The Penguins played without star centre Evgeni Malkin, who sustained an upper-body injury during a home loss against Chicago on Saturday. Malkin, second on the team with seven goals and 21 points, practiced on Monday, but did not skate on Tuesday. Malkin will be re-evaluated Thursday before it’s determined if he can play at Boston on Friday or Tampa Bay Saturday at home.
Derek Dorsett didn’t play for the Canucks. He was sent to Vancouver for precautionary medical reasons stemming from neck and back stiffness. Dorsett missed 68 games last season after undergoing career-threatening cervical fusion neck surgery in December 2016. He has nine points in 20 games this season, along with 39 hits and a league-high 74 penalty minutes.
NOTES: The Canucks have seven wins in 11 games against Eastern Conference teams this season . ... The Canucks acquired Sutter from Pittsburgh during a July 2015 trade . ... Canucks F Thomas Vanek has nine points in his past nine games, including an assist in five straight . ... Canucks F Sven Baertschi has 12 points in his past 10 games . ... Troy Stecher (knee) is expected to return during Vancouver’s season-high six-game road trip . ... The Canucks are at New Jersey on Friday. The Penguins visit Boston on Friday.