VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Anze Kopitar scored a goal and helped the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Monday night for their fourth straight win.
Blake Lizotte and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings, and Cam Talbot made 21 saves.
Brock Boeser and Sam Lafferty scored for Vancouver, ending their three-game win streak. Casey DeSmith had 16 saves.
The Canucks had a chance to be the first team to secure a playoff spot. However, they are still one point ahead of Colorado and Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference standings.
Trailing 3-1, the Canucks replaced DeSmith with an extra skater with just over 4 1/2 minutes remaining. This paid off when Boeser’s shot hit Kopitar’s skate and went in past Talbot, bringing Vancouver within one with 2:54 left.
Boeser leads Vancouver with 37 goals this season.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet called a 30-second timeout with less than a minute to go. With DeSmith out of the net again, Vancouver pushed for the tying goal. The Canucks had a prime chance when L.A.‘s Drew Doughty was penalized for tripping with 21 seconds to go, but they couldn’t score during the 6-on-4 play.
The Kings took a 3-1 lead late in the second period, scoring twice in less than two minutes.
Lizotte put Los Angeles ahead 2-1 with 3:31 to go on a delayed penalty after Vancouver’s Carson Soucy was called for tripping. With six skaters on the ice, Lizotte fired a one timer that hit Canucks defenseman Ian Cole at the side of the net before going in past DeSmith.
Kopitar got his 40th assist of the season on the play and has multiple points in four straight games, with four goals and five assists across the stretch.
Kopitar scored his 24th goal of the season with 1:40 to go in the period as DeSmith got a piece of the veteran forward’s long shot but couldn’t hold onto the puck, which fell to the crease. Kopitar came around the back of the net and tapped it in to give the Kings a two-goal lead.
The Kings had no goals in two power play opportunities, while the Canucks had no goals in one.
A poor Canucks line change gave the Kings an odd-man advantage midway through the opening period. With the home side down a player, Pierre-Luc Dubois passed to Fiala in the slot, who scored 7:01 into the game to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. It was Fiala’s 24th goal of the season.
Vancouver’s third line secured a tying goal with 7:10 left in the first period. Lafferty held off Alex Laferriere along the boards, then made his way to the front of the net and scored to tie it.
Canucks center Elias Lindholm did not play due to an undisclosed injury. Tocchet said the Swedish forward is “day to day.” Defenseman Ian Cole returned to Vancouver’s lineup after missing two games for what Tocchet previously called “maintenance.”
UP NEXT
Kings: At Edmonton on Thursday night in the second of a four-game trip.
The Canucks will play against Dallas at home on Thursday, which is the eighth game of a nine-game homestand.
