The LA Kings moved back into the second wild card position in the Western Conference as they skated to a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday evening at Crypto.com Arena.
It took just 89 seconds for the Kings to get on the board, as defenseman Brandt Clarke and forward Adrian Kempe connected on the game’s first goal. Clarke activated down the right wall, rounding the net with possession, before he fed Kempe in the slot to open the scoring for the hosts. Kempe’s goal was his 70th point of the season, making it three straight years with at least 70 points for the Swede.
Late in the first period, the Canucks tied the game at one with defenseman Marcus Pettersson getting the visitors on the board. Stationed at the left point, Pettersson fired into traffic in front, perhaps taking a deflection on the way through, past Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg and in for his third goal of the season and a 1-1 score.
Within two minutes of Vancouver’s tying goal, the Kings restored their one-goal advantage through forward Joel Armia. After forward Jared Wright forced a turnover in the neutral zone, forward Scott Laughton led the rush the other direction, before he dropped the puck to Armia, clearing a lane by driving to the net. Armia, with space in the slot, beat Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo with a wrist shot for his 13th goal of the season and the 2-1 lead.
The Kings had numerous chances to extend their lead in the second period and finally made it 3-1 via Kempe’s second goal of the evening. Forward Artemi Panarin fed the puck to defenseman Joel Edmundson at the point and after Edmundson got a shot through, Kempe deflected the puck on the way by, past Tolopilo and in, for his team-leading 34th goal of the season and a two-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.
Midway through the third period, the Kings added another insurance tally to extend their lead to three. Forward Alex Laferriere sent a shot from the left point that was deflected off the stick of Canucks defenseman Elias Nils Pettersson, off forward Trevor Moore and in. The goal was Moore’s his 12th of the season, with defenseman Mikey Anderson collecting the secondary helper for a 4-1 lead, which stood up as the game’s final score.
Hear from Kempe, Edmundson and Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith after tonight’s victory.
