Kings 4 - 0 Canucks
Final
  for this game

Kings resume playoff push against Canucks

Mar 12, 2015 - 3:48 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Kings will face another important battle in their push for a playoff spot, as the reigning Stanley Cup champions visit the Vancouver Canucks in Thursday's Pacific Division showdown.

The Kings, winners of two of the last three Cups, are riding a four-game point streak (3-0-1) and enter Thursday's action just one point behind Winnipeg for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Jets are also playing Thursday evening in Florida.

However, the wild card route isn't L.A.'s only avenue into the playoffs. The Kings are just two points behind Calgary for the last of the Pacific's three automatic playoff bids and Vancouver is only three points ahead in second place.

L.A. hopes to continue its recent mastery of the Canucks, who are 0-2-0 against the Kings this season and have lost six of the past seven encounters in this series. Vancouver has lost two of the last three meetings at Rogers Arena.

The Kings will host the Canucks on March 21 before the clubs complete the season series April 6 in Vancouver.

Los Angeles is coming off Tuesday's 5-2 win at Colorado. The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and held a 4-1 cushion at the end of 40 minutes.

Brayden McNabb had a goal and two assists to lead the Kings' offense. Kyle Clifford had a goal and an assist while Jake Muzzin, Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter all scored for the Kings.

"We knew this was a must-win and we're sure in a dogfight," said McNabb. "We played well as a group on the ice. So it's not just the line and we have to carry this in when we go to Vancouver."

Jonathan Quick stopped 21 shots in the win and expects to start tonight. Quick has a mediocre 11-11-1 record in his career versus the Canucks, but also is sporting a 1.81 goals against average in his 23 lifetime starts in this matchup.

The Canucks have won their past two games and recorded a 2-1 victory over Pacific-leading Anaheim on Monday. Despite taking the home regulation decision, Vancouver still trails the Ducks by 11 points for first place.

Zack Kassian scored the winning goal with 3:59 to play to help the Canucks edge Anaheim. Bo Horvat scored the other goal while Eddie Lack stopped 29 shots for the Canucks, who are 3-1-1 over their past five trips to the ice.

"It's a huge team game right now," said Lack. "The guys are all playing really well as a unit and we're clicking at the right time."

With No. 1 netminder Ryan Miller still out with a sprained knee, Lack will likely start again this evening. Lack is 1-1-0 with a 1.44 GAA in four appearances (2 starts) against L.A.

Vancouver is 18-12-1 as the host this season and will continue a five-game homestand when it hosts Toronto on Saturday.






Related News