National Hockey League
Vancouver 3, Los Angeles 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 18, 2023
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Wes McCauley, Corey Syvret
Linesmen: Brandon Gawryletz, Justin Johnson
Attendance: 18230

Thatcher Demko made 38 saves and did not allow a goal in the shootout to lead the visiting Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson scored, and J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes had two assists each for the Canucks (30-33-5, 65 points), who have won six of seven games and earned points in 12 straight games (10-0-2) against the Kings. Andrei Kuzmenko and Miller scored goals in the shootout.

Alexander Edler and Carl Grundstrom scored and Joonas Korpisalo made 15 saves for the Kings (40-20-10, 90 points), who are 7-0-2 in their past nine games and have not allowed more than two goals in regulation in their past eight.

The Kings (40-29-10, 90 points) moved into a tie for first in points in the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights with 12 games left for Los Angeles and 13 for Vegas.

The Golden Knights and Kings face off once more down the stretch, on April 6 in Las Vegas.

The Canucks were getting outshot 37-9 when Pettersson scored with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle seven seconds into a power play to tie the score 2-2 at 11:33 of the third period.

Boeser gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 10:53 of the first period with a shot from the top of the circle that went off Edler's stick and into the net.

Edler tied it 1-1 at 16:52 of the first. His shot from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle off a pass from Gabriel Vilardi beat Demko on his glove side for his second goal of the season.

The Kings were awarded a penalty shot at 10:24 of second period after Guillaume Brisebois was called for hooking Adrian Kempe on a breakaway, but Demko closed his pads to turn away Kempe's attempt.

Grundstrom scored for the second straight game when he redirected Rasmus Kupari's pass into the net to give the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16:18 of the second.

The Kings outshot Vancouver 12-2 in the second period, as the Canucks managed just six shots on goal through the first two periods.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Los Angeles
Quinn Hughes 2 Points Alexander Edler 1
Brock Boeser 1 Goals Alexander Edler 1
Quinn Hughes 2 Assists Arthur Kaliyev 1
Elias Pettersson 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Thatcher Demko .950 Save Percentage Joonas Korpisalo .882
Thatcher Demko 38 Saves Joonas Korpisalo 15
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 17 3 1-1 2-2 4 19
Los Angeles 40 2 0-2 0-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Kings have a W/L % of .537 after a win and .621 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Canucks have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .474 after a loss.