Penguins' Malkin, Canucks' Hansen each get hat trick

PITTSBURGH -– Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin wasn't the only player to score a hat trick Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. He was the only one who was able to celebrate it.

Malkin had his 10th NHL hat trick and first in the regular season since Feb. 25, 2012, to rally Pittsburgh to a 5-4 win at Consol Energy Center. With 17 seconds remaining, Canucks forward Jannik Hansen scored his third goal for his second NHL hat trick.

"There were a lot of opportunities, so we only have ourselves to blame that we don't get the two points today," Hansen said.

His third goal capped the scoring, and his first goal got the scoring started 27 seconds into the game. Hansen sped down the far wall past Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta before sending a wrist shot past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's blocker.

Hansen demonstrated his speed again later in the period, when he and Derek Dorsett went on a shorthanded 2-on-1 facing defenseman Kris Letang. Hansen passed to Dorsett, whose shot hit the crossbar, forcing Fleury out of position as Hansen recovered to backhand the puck into an empty net for a 2-0 Vancouver lead with 3:25 remaining.

"[Hansen has] been good for us this year," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. "I think he's a guy you can spot on the power play a little bit, but his big thing for us is he's been great on the penalty kill. He's been great 5-on-5."

It was the first time players from opposing teams scored a hat trick in the same game since March 8, 2015, when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers and Elias Lindholm of the Carolina Hurricanes did it in a 7-4 Hurricanes win.

Slow starts are nothing new for the Penguins, who were able to recover Saturday thanks to Malkin, who earlier this week predicted they would make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"We talked before the game about the slow start last game, but it was the same start tonight. I don't know what's going on, but I think we were ready before the game," Malkin said. "It's not good for us. We need to change a little bit and play better in the first period."

Malkin, who leads Pittsburgh with 23 goals and 47 points, scored his first goal 3:54 into the second period to cut Vancouver's lead to 2-1, but Bo Horvat made it 3-1 six minutes into the third period.

Malkin's second goal of the game involved some luck when his pass from behind the net went into the crease, off the stick of Vancouver forward Linden Vey and into the net.

Malkin beat Ryan Miller 3:05 later with a wrist shot for his first hat trick since April 28, 2014, in the Eastern Conference First Round deciding Game 6 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"It's not every day (you score a hat trick), but it always feels good," Malkin said. "Obviously, the team won. It was a very good day for me. I thank my linemates. They did a great job today."

Malkin's three goals didn't decide the game. Forward Bryan Rust gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead with 7:00 remaining, then Sidney Crosby scored a seemingly inconsequential empty-net goal to push it to 5-3 with 1:23 remaining.

"It's like having a front-row seat to see one of the best players in the League do what he can do best," linemate Carl Hagelin, who was traded to Pittsburgh on Jan. 16, said about Malkin.

Malkin said he thought the Penguins should have performed better.

"If we want to play in the playoffs, it's not right," Malkin said. "Because in the playoffs, it's a little bit different game. We can't score five goals every game, you know? We need the entire team to play 60 minutes."