Photo: The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — Arshdeep Bains scored the first goal of his NHL career and his hometown Vancouver Canucks rallied to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Elias Pettersson scored his first of the season as the Canucks (4-1-2) scored four quick goals midway through the second period en route to their fourth straight victory.

Kiefer Sherwood and JT Miller added goals before Bains, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, buried the puck at 9:58 of the second period.

Evgeni Malkin scored and had two assists for the Penguins (3-6-1), while Anthony Beauvillier contributed one of each. Bryan Rust completed the scoring.

Goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of 23 shots to give Vancouver its first home win of the season and Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves for Pittsburgh.

TAKE AWAY

Canucks: The team’s depth showed in the second half when each of its four lines scored in six minutes. Ten Vancouver players contributed either a goal or an assist, with none recording multiple points.

Penguins: The visitors were the dominant team throughout the first period, with Beauvillier opening the scoring at 7:48. But Pittsburgh’s offense faltered afterward and the Penguins were outshot 34-23.

KEY MOMENT

With the Canucks leading 2-0 early in the second period, Pettersson fired a shot past Nedeljkovic from the faceoff circle to put Vancouver on the board at 4:06. The goal was his first of the season and sparked an offensive onslaught where the Canucks scored three goals in 65 seconds.

KEY STATUS

Saturday marked the end of a four-game winless road streak in Western Canada for Pittsburgh. The Penguins return home with just one point from the trip, following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

FOLLOWING

Canucks: Continue a three-game homestand Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Penguins: Return home to host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 26, 2024.