Hungry for points, Kings face spoilers in Canucks
Pacific Division rivals meet in what could be a playoff-deciding matchup for the Los Angeles Kings when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
The game is the second of four between these teams this season, with the final three matchups in the final month of the regular season. Los Angeles won the first meeting at home, 2-1 in overtime, on Nov. 29, and has won three of the last five overall meetings dating back to the 2024 season.
The Kings (28-25-18, 74 points) sit three points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They previously occupied a playoff spot but now find themselves on the outside looking in after dropping four straight games (0-1-3).
Each of Los Angeles' last two losses has come on the road in overtime, a 4-3 setback to the playoff-positioned Utah Mammoth on Sunday and a 3-2 defeat to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. In their last game, the Kings took a 2-1 lead to kick off the third period on Quinton Byfield's score 17 seconds in. Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh tied the game with a power-play goal with 6:58 remaining in regulation, and forward Yegor Sharangovich buried the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
"We let them just walk into the zone a little bit too much," Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson said. "We didn't play a bad game."
"We threw one away, in my opinion," Kings interim head coach D.J. Smith said. "We've got one more game on this trip (on Thursday). We need two points, and the moral victories (don't) help tonight. We wanted two points."
The Canucks (21-41-8, 50 points) became the first Western Conference team eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. The front office will have its sights set on this summer's NHL draft, while the team can play spoiler for all of its opponents for the remainder of the season since its 12 remaining matchups are against Western Conference competition.
Wins haven't come easily for the Canucks in the final stretch of the regular season. They have lost four of their last five games, getting outscored 21-13 over that span. Vancouver most recently fell 5-3 to the Pacific-leading Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Vancouver took an early 1-0 lead against Anaheim and battled to a 3-3 tie in the third period thanks to goals from Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Drew O'Connor. Ducks center Mason McTavish restored the lead to 4-3, and Troy Terry scored into an empty net with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to secure the 5-3 defeat for the Canucks. Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves in the loss.
"We fought well," Canucks forward Elias Pettersson said. "Maybe a little too easy, the goals we let in. We don't help ‘Lanks' enough. ... We're going to play until the final whistle. We were close."
O'Connor said the Canucks win and lose as a team.
"So, it's nice when you can score," he said, "but overall, I think if we play like that, we'll give ourselves a chance to win more often than not."