PITTSBURGH — Kris Letang capped a wild comeback, scoring the deciding goal with 3:06 to play, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied with six goals in the third period to beat the Vancouver Canucks 8-6 on Wednesday night.
Letang’s slap shot from the right circle beat Thatcher Demko to the glove side, completing Pittsburgh’s comeback from a 6-3 deficit.
Evgeni Malkin scored twice and had three assists, and Jake Guentzel had two goals and two assists. Guentzel, on a three-game scoring streak, has 14 goals this season and six goals and 12 points on a six-game point streak.
Bryan Rust had a power-play goal and three assists, while Dominik Kahun and Zach Aston-Reese also scored for Pittsburgh, which extended its point streak to seven games. The Penguins have points in 12 of their last 14 games.
Tristan Jarry stopped six shots in relief of Matt Murray, who started and made 10 saves in two periods.
Elias Pettersson scored his 11th of the season and his fifth goal in eight games for Vancouver. J.T Miller and Adam Gaudette each had two goals and Jake Virtanen scored his seventh for the Canucks, who have three wins in their last 12 games. Demko made 32 saves.
The Canucks trailed 2-0 through the first 15 minutes but scored four goals on 14 shots to jump ahead, 4-2, after two periods. Pittsburgh trailed 6-3 in the third period but rallied with three goals in 4:14 to tie the game.
Miller scored a power-play goal and Gaudette got his second of the game 35 seconds later to give Vancouver a 6-3 lead.
But Kahun responded with his seventh of the season and Malkin brought Pittsburgh within one with a power-play goal. Aston-Reese tied the game at 10:30 of the third period.
Pittsburgh jumped on Vancouver with an early 12-0 advantage in shots and the first two goals. The Canucks were held without a shot for the first 13:50 of the game.
Guentzel opened the scoring for Pittsburgh at 2:29 of the first period. He has goals in seven of his last eight home games, which includes a career-best six-game home goal-scoring streak. Rust made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 12:53 of the first.
The Canucks scored the next four goals, including three in the second period.
Pettersson tied the game for Vancouver at 7:17 of the second, and Virtanen and Gaudette scored goals 41 seconds apart in the final 2 minutes of the period.
NOTES
Guentzel has at least one point in seven career games against the Canucks for eight goals and 14 points. He has points in 12 of 15 home games this season. … Malkin has five goals and 18 points in his last 11 games. … Penguins D John Marino continued a career-best six-game point streak. … Vancouver D Quinn Hughes is second in NHL rookie scoring after finishing with three assists. … Canucks coach Travis Green announced Jacob Markstrom as the starting goalie Wednesday morning, but Markstrom ended up sitting with an illness. … Brandon Sutter (groin) missed his seventh game for the Canucks, while Jay Beagle (lower body) sat out his third straight.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Close a season-long six-game trip Saturday at Edmonton.
Penguins: Visit Columbus on Friday.
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Dan Scifo, The Associated Press