Penguins hold off Canucks to end 3-game skid

PITTSBURGH -- Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins held on to win 5-4 against the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday.

Erik Karlsson had three assists, Sidney Crosby had two assists, and Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the Penguins (8-12-4), who had lost three straight, six of seven and eight of 10.

“When you’re going through a skid like we’ve gone through, as you guys can imagine, it’s human nature. We’re scarred because they care,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “You’ve got to fight through that element of human nature, and you’ve got to manufacture confidence, you’ve got to play on your toes.”

Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists, and Elias Pettersson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (11-7-3), who had won two in a row and eight straight on the road including 2-0 at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Arturs Silovs made 18 saves.

“The first period, obviously, we gifted the goals,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Seemed like anything they shot went in, but we also gifted some goals. Then you’re behind 4-1.”

Pittsburgh scored on four of 10 shots in the first period.

Blake Lizotte put the Penguins ahead 1-0 on their first shot on goal at 3:59, collecting a point shot from Ryan Shea off the end boards for a backhand near the right post. He returned from missing the previous five games with a concussion.

Aatu Raty tied it 1-1 at 8:52, having an initial attempt blocked before scoring on a snap shot over Jarry’s glove from the left face-off circle.

Rickard Rakell gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead at 12:53 by going to one knee and chipping in a pass from Rust just outside the crease.

Kevin Hayes made it 3-1 on a power play 15:14 with a wrist shot in close off a rebound from Evgeni Malkin.

Rust took a pass from Crosby for a wrist shot around a sprawling Silovs to the right of the net, extending the lead to 4-1 at 17:41 then pushed it to 5-1 at 3:40 of the second period with a wrist shot just above the right circle for his seventh goal.

“We play a game for a living,” Rust said. “I think, sometimes, everybody forgets that. It’s supposed to be fun. Yes, it’s our job. Yes, it’s hard. We obviously take it very seriously. But at the end of the day, it’s a game and we’re supposed to have fun doing it. That breeds confidence and that breeds life.”

Pius Suter cut it to 5-2 at 13:40 on his seventh goal, a slap shot past a screen by Dakota Joshua.

Hughes pulled Vancouver to within 5-3 by driving to the left circle for a snap shot 40 seconds into the third period.

“We always have heart and we’re competitive,” Hughes said. “But you can’t start like that. It starts with me. I know better.”

Pettersson scored with a wrist shot on a loose puck outside the crease at 18:14 for the 5-4 final.

“I liked the battle back from us,” Pettersson said, “But we can’t come out with an effort like that to start and expect to win a game.”

The win was Jarry’s first since Oct. 14 and first at home since March 14. He entered Wednesday 1-3-1 with a 4.41 goals-against average and .869 save percentage in six starts.

“It’s a better result than prior games,” Jarry said. “The team played great in the first period. We were able to get pucks to the net and able to capitalize early. We did a great job in the second period just battling. Just throughout the game, we kept pressure on them and we did a good job defending.”

NOTES: Rust had his 25th multi-goal game, the fourth most for the Penguins since he entered the NHL in 2014-15 behind Crosby (47), Malkin (41) and Jake Guentzel (32). ... Forward Philip Tomasino had one shot on goal in 18:05 of ice time in his Penguins debut after being acquired from the Nashville Predators on Monday for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. ... Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering did not play with an undisclosed illness. ... Vancouver forward Max Sasson, who had an assist on Raty’s goal, has two assists in his first two NHL games. He is the first Canucks player to begin his career with at least one point in two straight games since Pettersson (first five games in 2018-19).