Canucks Hold Off Late Push and Beat Kings 3-2 in OT

The Vancouver Canucks picked up their first win since the break, taking down the Los Angeles Kings 3-2.

The Canucks were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and even though they gave up two goals late, they dug in and pulled out the win.

Conor Garland scored the game-winner, and said offence is hard to come by against a tough Kings squad, but they continued to plug away and play to their structure.

“I saw Chyts going around the net, and we tried that against Detroit, and ended up in our net. So, thought we'll shoot this one and it seemed like a good spot, so, nice play by Huggy. We had chance on the rush, it was good play by their D and then just reattack. It's hard to score four-on-four, so it's a good play by the group out there,” Garland said.

Quinn Hughes was back in the lineup for the first time since January 31st and he tallied an assist on the overtime goal.

“It’s huge,” Garland said of having their captain back. “Obviously he’s a top three player in the world, he’s just fantastic. He’s a leader, and when stuff goes array, you can lean on him to make plays and that’s what he did in overtime for us,” Garland said.

Hughes said it was hard to miss games, and develop chemistry with his new teammates, but he trusted himself and took the time to make sure he was ready to go when he returned.

“I had to be smart too, even just tonight, knowing where my body was after the game right now, I definitely feel confident in the fact that I took the time that I needed. So, hopefully [it’s] smooth sailing from here on out,” Hughes said.

Kevin Lankinen was solid between the pipes once again, turning aside 24 of 26 shots he faced.

In the second period, on the power play, Filip Chytil made a quick pass to Conor Garland, diving through the slot, and Garland finished net front to put the Canucks up 2-0 going into the final break.

The Kings got goals from Adrian Kempe and Warren Foegele in the third period to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, the Canucks penalty kill was tested once again, and Tyler Myers put his body on the line, blocking a puck between his chest and neck and leaving the game. The Canucks finished the game with 17 blocked shots.

With 40 seconds left in the extra period, Hughes, Chytil, and Garland came into the Kings’ end with speed, Hughes making a drop pass to Garland coming down the left wall who fired a laser over David Rittich’s right shoulder for the 3-2 win.

Up Next

The Canucks have another back-to-back, playing the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center on Thursday, February 27th at 7 p.m. PT.