Boeser propels Canucks past Kings in shootout

LOS ANGELES -- Brock Boeser had a goal and scored the winner in the shootout for the Vancouver Canucks in a 4-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Thursday.

Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (26-26-7), who are tied with the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves, starting for the second consecutive night.
"We rallied hard tonight," Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher said. "Like I said, next man up. Everybody is kind of pitching in right now, and this conference race is pretty tight so there's no nights off."
WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Kings highlights]
Alec Martinez had a goal and an assist for the Kings (23-28-6), who lost their third straight (0-1-2). Jonathan Quick made 24 saves.
Gaudette tied it 3-3 for the Canucks with 1:38 remaining in the third period. Pettersson chipped the puck into the offense zone and it bounced to Gaudette, who scored from the edge of the left circle for his first NHL multipoint game.
With Jake Virtanen out after sustaining an upper-body injury on a hit by Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf on Wednesday, Gaudette found himself playing in new situations, including being on the ice with Markstrom pulled for an extra attacker.
"It's really nice for Adam to get rewarded and that's what happened," Markstrom said. "Ice time is up for grabs and he's out there for 6-on-5 and scores a huge goal for us. It was a team comeback."

Martinez put the Kings ahead 3-2 at 10:59 of the third period with a wobbly shot from the blue line that Markstrom bobbled and let in because of traffic that impeded his view.
But Vancouver was able to rally and end a four-game road losing streak (0-3-1), addressing concerns of Canucks coach Travis Green that his team would not be able to respond following the 1-0 loss at Anaheim.
"We lost a tough game last night," Green said. "I was worried that we'd be emotionally maybe a little low today just because we put a lot on the table last night. Not just emotionally. Physically it was a tough game, and to win a game like that can lift a team."
The Canucks showed no early signs of fatigue, with Pettersson giving them a 1-0 lead at 12:22 of the first period with his 26th goal, taking a wrist shot from the right dot and putting it over Quick's glove for his eighth on the power play.

The Kings tied it 1-1 eight seconds later when Austin Wagner scored for the fourth time in the past four games at 12:30. Los Angeles won the face-off and Wagner skated into the high slot to score his eighth goal on a wrist shot.
Boeser put Vancouver ahead 2-1 at 9:46 of the second period with his 20th goal, becoming the fifth Canucks player with multiple 20-goal seasons before turning 22-years-old, joining Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Rick Blight and Tony Tanti.
Los Angeles again responded quickly, with Michael Amadio tying it 2-2 at 12:28 from a sharp angle on a rebound of Kyle Clifford's shot.
The Kings got a point for the fifth time in six games (3-1-2) but they remain in last place in the Western Conference, seven points behind the Canucks and Wild.
"I think we've been practicing better as of late and that's translated to games, but like I said we need points right now," Martinez said.

They said it

"You can still play in those games at this time of year, but if there's not something on the line then you don't feel pressure and it's not the same thing. For our young guys to go through this, it means a lot. We hope we make it. We hope we're there at the end. But we're learning as we go." -- Canucks coach Travis Green
"We got a lead in the third but just couldn't hang onto it. But we're going to learn from it and try and pull the positives."-- Kings forward Austin Wagner

Need to know

Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev is returning to Vancouver for further evaluation of an ankle injury sustained against the Ducks and will be placed on injured reserve, Green said. … Martinez has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak. … Kings forward Kyle Clifford had two assists for the second straight game and has five assists in his past four games. … Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois was minus-2 with two hits and one blocked shot, playing 9:24 in his NHL debut. … Kings forwards Tyler Toffoli and Adrian Kempe each had a five-game point streak end.

What's next

Canucks:At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, NESN, NHL.TV)