Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) scores against Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — Rookie Ben Kindel scored two second-period goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins used a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon to sweep a four-game Western Canada NHL road trip.

A large contingent of supporters was on hand to cheer the native of nearby Coquitlam, B.C., who recorded his second multi-goal game. The 18-year-old has 10 goals and 12 assists in 48 games.

Veteran Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins (26-14-11).

Goals by Jake DeBrusk and Teddy Blueger made things interesting in the third period for the Canucks (17-30-5), who have dropped two straight.

Pittsburgh goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 26 shots.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 23 shots for the Canucks.

Pittsburgh opened the road trip with a 6-3 win over Seattle on Monday, beat Calgary 4-1 on Wednesday, then bounced Edmonton 6-2 on Thursday.

TAKEAWAYS

Canucks: The Canucks have just one win in their last 14 games (1-11-2). … Goaltender Thatcher Demko missed his eighth game with a lower-body injury. … Conor Garland appeared to have scored in the final minute of the first period but the goal was disallowed because of goalie interference. Replays showed Blueger in the blue paint but he didn’t appear to touch Skinner.

Penguins: The Penguins have points in 13 of their last 15 games with a 11-2-2 record. … After losing his first three starts following a Dec. 12 trade from Edmonton, Skinner has won seven of eight games. … Veteran Kris Letang returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury. … Egor Chinakhov looked to give Pittsburgh a 1-0, first-period lead but the goal was called back after a review showed he came into the zone offside. … Former Canuck goaltender Arturs Silovs, who was the MVP of the Abbotsford Canucks Calder Cup championship, received a loud cheer when introduced on the big screen during the first period.

KEY MOMENT

Malkin and Kindel made it 2-0 with goals 3:17 apart in the second period. Malkin opened the scoring by taking a pretty pass from Thomas Novak that went over a Canuck defender’s stick, then beat Lankinen. Kindel made it 2-0 by directing in a shot from defenceman Ryan Shea. Before the period ended Kindel ripped a shot from the faceoff circle past Lankinen.

KEY STAT

Kindel had gone 20 games without a goal after scoring eight in his first 28.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

Canucks: Host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026