Brock Boeser scored a hat trick as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday at Rogers Arena.
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes had three assists while forward J.T. Miller chipped in with two assists. Brayden Point had the lone goal for the Lightning.
Boeser scored his 19th goal of the season at 9:28 of the second period after J.T. 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 period. That tied him with Toronto’s Auston Matthews (21) for the lead in the NHL scoring race.
IT'S RAINING HATS 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/i4e90MkPCH
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 13, 2023
The Lightning (13-12-5) 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.
Andrei Kuzmenko had an equalizer for the Canucks (19-9-1) on their first power play of the game. He fired a one-timer past Vasilevskiy at 6:08 of the opening frame.
Vasilevskiy made 18 saves. Vancouver netminder Thatcher Demko had 28 stops.
UP NEXT: Vancouver will host the Florida Panthers on Thursday, with the game including a tribute to ex-Canuck Roberto Luongo.
The Lightning travel to Edmonton to play the Oilers on Thursday.
READ MORE: Vancouver Canucks hang on to beat visiting Carolina Hurricanes 4-3
NOTES: Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman missed the game with an upper-body injury … Vasilevskiy had won five straight against the Canucks before Tuesday’s loss … The win is Demko’s first against the Lightning … J.T. Miller leads the Canucks in points against the Lightning with 15 in 18 games … The hat trick is Boeser’s second of the season.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
