Boeser nets hat trick to tie for NHL goals lead and Canucks beat Lightning 4-1
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brock Boeser scored a hat trick, Quinn Hughes had three assists and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Andrei Kuzmenko also scored for Vancouver, winners of three straight, while J.T. Miller chipped in with two assists.
Brayden Point had the Lightning’s goal.
Boeser scored his 19th goal of the season at 9:28 of the second period after Miller’s initial shot was blocked by Andrei Vasilevskiy, allowing the winger to bat the puck in mid-air.
He added a second goal eight minutes later, firing his shot past Vasilevskiy on the blocker side after Hughes cycled around the net and found the winger open at the point.
Boeser’s final goal was an empty-netter with just over a minute to play in the third. With his second hat trick of the season, Boeser is tied with Toronto’s Auston Matthews for the NHL lead with 21 goals.
The Lightning opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game. Brandon Hagel found Mikhail Sergachev with a cross-ice pass and he found an open Point at the side of the net.
Kuzmenko scored the equalizer for the Canucks on their first power play of the game. He fired a one-timer past Vasilevskiy at 6:08 of the first period.
Vasilevskiy made 18 saves and Vancouver netminder Thatcher Demko had 28 stops.
UP NEXT
Lightning: At Edmonton Oilers on Thursday in the fourth game of a five-game trip.
Canucks: Host Florida Panthers on Thursday in the finale of a five-game homestand.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl