Kings 3 - 2 Canucks
Final
  for this game

Kings try to halt road slide in Vancouver

Jan 1, 2015 - 3:24 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Kings hope to put their road woes behind them when they begin the 2015 calendar year by visiting the Vancouver Canucks in Thursday's battle at Rogers Arena.

The Kings, winners of two of the last three Stanley Cup titles, haven't looked like champions away from the City of Angels this season, going 4-8-6 as the visiting team.

Darryl Sutter's club has dropped five straight on the road since a 5-3 win at Ottawa on Dec. 11 and his Kings are 0-1-1 on a three-game trek which ends tonight.

The Kings' current two-game skid comes on the heels of a 3-0-1 stay at Staples Center, where the club boasts a 14-4-2 record this season. After closing the road trip on Thursday, the Kings will head home for their longest homestand of the season. The seven-game stay in L.A. begins Saturday against Nashville.

One night after losing a 2-1 regulation decision in Calgary on Monday, the Kings were handed a 3-2 shootout loss by the Edmonton Oilers.

Edmonton entered Tuesday's contest on a nine-game losing streak, but the Oilers were able to down the defending champs for just their second win in the last 22 games.

The Kings rallied to earn the point at Rexall Place after falling behind 2-0 against lowly Edmonton. Drew Doughty cut the deficit to one shortly after the midway point of the third period and Jake Muzzin's power-play tally with 2:25 left sent the game to overtime.

However, Edmonton's David Perron would score the lone goal of the shootout, beating Jonathan Quick with a backhand shot in the fourth round.

Quick stopped 19 shots in defeat for the Kings, who outshot Edmonton 39-21 in the game and 15-1 in the third period alone.

"We didn't play a good game," said L.A. forward Tyler Toffoli. "We started playing when we were down two goals."

Vancouver enters this New Year's Day battle having posted three wins during a four-game point streak. The lone loss of the stretch came in a 2-1 overtime setback at Anaheim on Sunday, but the Canucks rebounded with Tuesday's 3-1 triumph in San Jose.

Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata all scored for the Canucks, who are tied for second place in the Pacific Division with San Jose and Calgary, one point ahead of Los Angeles.

"We needed a strong effort tonight," said Hansen. "These are extremely valuable points in our division."

Ryan Miller made 31 saves to anchor Tuesday's win in San Jose. Miller is 19-7-1 with a 2.50 goals against average in 27 games this season.

Miller is 5-2-1 with a 2.59 GAA in his career against the Kings and is expected to draw the start against Quick tonight. Quick owns a career 10-11-1 mark and a 1.81 GAA in 22 lifetime appearances versus the Canucks.

The Canucks will be aiming for a bit of revenge tonight after getting slammed in the first of five meetings between these Pacific rivals on Nov. 8 in L.A. The Kings scored four times in the first two periods to chase Miller from the game, while Quick stopped 18-of-19 shots for L.A. in a 5-1 victory.

The Kings have won five of the last six encounters in this series overall, but Vancouver is 3-0-1 over the past four meetings at Rogers Arena.

The Canucks, who are 9-5-1 as the host in 2014-15, are kicking off a four-game homestand tonight.






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