VANCOUVER, B.C. -- He had just scored the first hat trick of his career in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser was trying to explain the goal that got away.

Boeser had a chance to score a fourth goal into an empty net in the dying seconds but instead passed to defenseman Chris Tanev. His shot was blocked by one of the Penguins.

"I could have shot," said the 20-year-old. "I wanted to pass it to the D-man to try and get him a goal."

Boeser heard about his decision after the game from goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

"He was chirping me a little bit because he wanted an assist," said Boeser.

Boeser's third goal came at 5:56 of the third period, just 1:07 after Pittsburgh's Greg McKegg had tied the game 2-2.

Boeser's goal caused a downpour of hats to rain onto the Rogers Arena ice.

"It's special being my first hat trick, but against the Stanley Cup champions and those types of guys, it makes it a little more special," said the Burnsville, Minn., native, who was selected 23rd overall by Vancouver in the 2015 NHL draft. "It's a huge game for us coming into it, defeating the Stanley Cup champions. We knew we had to get up for this one. We thought we'd played well over the past couple of games. We wanted to bear down and get those points."

Boeser leads Vancouver with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) this season and has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 19 games as a Canuck.

Bo Horvat had a goal and three assists, and Sven Baertschi had three assists for the Canucks (7-4-2), who had lost four straight games against the Penguins.

Jake Guentzel had the other goal for the Penguins (8-6-2), who ended a season-high, five-game road trip 1-3-1.

As a line, Horvat, Baertschi and Boeser generated four goals and seven assists.

Horvat heaped praise on Boeser.

"He was phenomenal tonight," said Horvat. "Obviously he can shoot the puck and he's in the right spot at the right time. He played a heck of a game."

Boeser's first goal at 7:07 of the first period tied the game 1-1. Horvat picked up a turnover at the Pittsburgh blue line and fed it to Boeser, who skated around defenseman Kris Letang and beat Penguins' goaltender Matthew Murray.

Boeser made it 2-1 Vancouver at 7:14 of the second. Horvat threw a pass into the slot from behind the Penguin net that Baertschi chipped to Boeser at the side of the net. With Murray out of position, Boeser scored from a sharp angle.

Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby smiled when asked about Boeser's night.

"I'm sure it's a great feeling for him," said Crosby. "It's not fun being on this side of it."

As good as Boeser played, Markstrom had a great night, making 37 saves as Vancouver ended a two-game losing skid.

"He's played great the last two games," said Canucks coach Travis Green. "If he wasn't as sharp as he was tonight we weren't going to win this hockey game."

Crosby said Markstrom kept the Canucks in the game.

"There's a few (chances) we feel that those usually go in," he said. "He found a way to get a leg on it or stop it.

"He's a big guy, he's athletic. He definitely was a big difference for them tonight."

The Penguins finished their road trip with just eight goals in five games.

Head coach Mike Sullivan was pleased his team outshot Vancouver 39-21.

"I thought we generated a fair amount of scoring chances," said Sullivan. "We are a little bit snake bitten right now. The puck isn't going in the net for us.

"Obviously we didn't like the result tonight. I thought the effort was there. Certainly, we can see the players trying to execute the way we were practicing. We just have to stay with it."

Crosby said the game would have been different if the Penguins had scored on a couple early chances.

"It's just a matter of those pucks going in for us and the whole complexion of the game changes for us," he said. "Until that happens we can't hurt ourselves with some of the mistakes we are making."

NOTES: With G Anders Nilsson's wife expecting a baby the Canucks called up G Thatcher Demko from the Utica Comets of the AHL. ... Canucks D Alex Biega became just the eighth player taken in the fifth round or higher of the 2006 draft to play in his 100th NHL game. ... D Patrick Wiercioch and C Jayson Megna were healthy scratches for Vancouver. ... G Matthew Murray shut out the Canucks both times he faced them last year. ... Penguins D Frank Corrado went to the dressing room early in the second period after falling face first into the boards but returned to action. ... Pittsburgh RW Phil Kessel also went to the dressing room in the second period after banging his head on the ice but returned for the third.