LOS ANGELES — The Kings won their season series against the Pacific Division’s top team and leapfrogged two other clubs in the postseason race on Saturday night as they toppled the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3, at Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings moved to 3-0-1 against Vancouver, the one Western Conference playoff team against which they’ve had consistent success. They also vaulted over the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights, presently occupying the third position in the Pacific, which would set up a third consecutive first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers as things stood Saturday.
Adrian Kempe paced the Kings with two goals and an assist. Kevin Fiala and Drew Doughty each produced a goal and an assist. Alex Laferriere and Trevor Moore both notched a goal while captain Anze Kopitar contributed two assists. Cam Talbot made 39 saves in an understated but highly effective outing.
Brock Boeser, Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger all tallied for Vancouver. Casey DeSmith came up with just 23 saves.
The Kings’ play ebbed and flowed, but timely responses in the form of scores and saves alike propelled them to a third victory in four nights.
“Good mood. Good vibes. We had another win tonight, against a good team, maybe against a potential playoff [opponent],” Fiala said.
Though the Kings had not quite been analytical darlings through 40 minutes, they carried a lead into the third period, a situation that has now seen them earn at least a point on all 35 occasions, including 32 wins.
They slathered on a final goal shorthanded with 2:40 remaining in the match when Kempe dashed the other way on a counterattack, finishing his breakaway with a low shot for his second goal of the evening and 27th of the season.
The Kings previously reestablished a three-goal edge with some signature work on the forecheck by Moore, Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, who returned to action after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Moore initiated the sequence before Arvidsson won the puck and sent it back to Moore, keying a give-and-go play in tight that saw Moore score his 30th goal of the year inside the near post with 9:25 to play.
“I don’t think when we made that trade [with Toronto] that we expected 30 goals out of him, no offense, but that’s amazing,” Doughty said of the Thousand Oaks native. “For a hometown boy, too, he loved the L.A. Kings growing up, it’s pretty special for him and his family, but it’s special for all of us, too.”
Vancouver scored on a pair of sticktoitive forays on each side of that Kings goal, at 7:23 and 12:35. First, J.T. Miller gained the zone amid three Kings defenders, weaving his way into a backhand shot that created a rebound to be mopped up by Joshua. Blueger would later add a persistent shorthanded goal to draw the Canucks within two.
After absorbing much of the play as the first period progressed, the Kings provided a response territorially and, more importantly, on the scoreboard in the second period.
They took a commanding 4-1 lead 8:49 into the frame. Then, a long lob by Kopitar from deep in the defensive zone sailed to the red line before it wobbled ahead as Fiala smoked defenseman Carson Soucy badly enough to reach the puck, backhand it into DeSmith’s pad and then score on a second forehand followup for his 27th goal of 2023-24. Fiala has 13 points in his past 11 games.
“[Kopitar put] great touch on the puck up over the D-man’s head, but then (Fiala) had to do a lot of work to score,” Hiller said. “There’s not many guys that can score that kind of goal. His strength and his competitiveness are evident in the goal, because he has to have edges, fight people off and stay on it for the second time.”
The Kings had taken just 2:09 to gain a bit of separation when Fiala set up a one-time blast from Jordan Spence. His shot was tipped skyward and just under the crossbar by Laferriere for his 12th goal of the campaign.
Boeser continued to excel against the Kings scoring his 17th goal in 20 career games against the Kings to halve Vancouver’s deficit with 9:12 to play in the first period after he stickhandled into traffic and scored to the far side.
“It was great to get the goals, great to get the lead but I thought we sagged a little bit after we got the two quick goals and they started to push a little bit,” Hiller said.
The Kings had staked themselves to a two-goal advantage off two early power-play goals, at the 2:48 and 5:45 marks, scoring on two of their first four shots.
Doughty moved the puck from the right point to the right circle and then reappeared atop the left circle to pop a rising redirection over DeSmith and into the net for goal No. 15, putting him one shy of the career high he set in 2009-10.
Opening the scoring was Kempe, skating down Kopitar’s pass into space near the right point before he zoomed to the dot and fired a hard wrist shot inside the far post. Kempe has compiled 19 points in his last 14 games.
Though playoff position for most of the Western contenders remained volatile, the Kings took three of four from the Canucks, one of several clubs that they could face in Round 1.
“We’d be feeling good, but, at the same time, it’s a whole new season,” Doughty said. “When we beat (Vancouver) in 2012, they were the best team in the league, I’m sure they owned us that season, but nothing mattered when the playoffs started.”
