VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The best part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ annual Western Canada road trip happened Saturday night at Rogers Arena.

It ended.

Mercifully.

The bumbling Penguins blew a two-goal lead against the Vancouver Canucks and lost 4-3. It was their fifth straight loss. They went 0-3-1 on this four-game trip.

The Penguins started it with a poor defensive showing in Winnipeg. They coughed up a late lead in Calgary. And then they were dominated Friday at Edmonton.

Saturday’s defeat was the third time they let their opponent come from behind.

The Penguins were up 2-0 in the second period and seemed to be in control when the Canucks got three goals on Alex Nedeljkovic within a span of 65 seconds.

Elias Pettersson scored the first, pulling in a pass from Conor Garland and wiring a shot up over Nedeljkovic’s glove. The Penguins have struggled mightily to defend offense originating from below their goal line, and it cost them once again there.

The Canucks tied it up after Bryan Rust had a bad turnover at the Vancouver blue line and Marcus Pettersson, who joined the rush, blew a tire while trying to pump his brakes. Teddy Blueger assisted Kiefer Sherwood on the ensuing 2-on-1 rush.

Nedeljkovic had little chance, but at least he got in a good stretch doing the splits.

J.T. Miller got the go-ahead goal just 22 seconds later. He barreled down the right wing, put a shot on goal and chased after the rebound. Nedeljkovic tried to swat the loose puck away, but it appeared to hit Miller and then trickled over the line.

Nedeljkovic was so good during the first period of this game, but it all turned when the Canucks beat him three times on four shots. The Penguins never recovered.

The Penguins had energy early despite a late-night flight to Vancouver after a 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday in the first half of this back-to-back. Anthony Beauvillier gave them a 1-0 lead by scoring on a deflection 7:48 into the game.

The Canucks pushed back hard. Nedeljkovic, making his third start on the trip, was up to the task. He stopped a dozen shots, including point-blank tries from Daniel Sprong and Brock Boeser, during the first period and helped the Penguins survive Michael Bunting’s double minor to get back to the dressing room with the lead.

Rust doubled it by scoring on a backhand wraparound early in the second period.

A moment later, the Penguins had a glorious opportunity to push their lead to 3-0 when they skated in on a 3-on-1. But Kris Letang couldn’t beat Kevin Lankinen.

And that’s when the Canucks exploded for three goals to stunningly pull in front.

Just under five minutes later, Arshdeep Bains banged in a rebound to make it 4-2.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan used his timeout and barked a brief message to his players. Frenzied Canucks fans somehow grew louder, trying to drown him out.

The Penguins couldn’t rally all the way back, not with Sidney Crosby quiet again.

Evgeni Malkin scored a beautiful breakaway goal with 6:39 remaining, his third point of the night. But the Canucks shut it down after that.

During their winless road trip, the Penguins were outscored by an 18-9 margin.

No team has allowed more goals this season than the Penguins, who fell to 3-6-1.

Ice chips

—Rust left Saturday’s loss with a lower-body injury suffered in the third period. He tried to limp to the bench after a collision with Nils Hoglander, but he needed Drew O’Connor and a linesman to help him make it to the far bench. Rust briefly barked at someone from there before heading to the dressing room. He didn’t return.

—Before the game, Sullivan promoted Rickard Rakell to the first line and shifted Rust to the second. It was Rust’s first game in which he didn’t play with Crosby.

—The Penguins tallied just 12 shots through two periods. The Canucks had 28.

—With his early goal, Beauvillier snapped a seven-game slump without a point.

—Bunting, who skated on the third line, took three penalties in the first period.

—Cody Glass, who left Friday’s loss due to illness, was unavailable Saturday night. Valtteri Puustinen drew back into the lineup for his second game of the season.

—The Penguins on Saturday assigned Tristan Jarry on a conditioning stint to the American Hockey League. Jarry was between the pipes for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday. He stopped 32 of 34 shots in a 3-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch.

Stat n’at

5 — games this season in which the Penguins held a lead before going on to lose

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