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Vancouver (45-19-8, 98 points) could have
become the first team in the league to punch its ticket to the
postseason with a win.
The Canucks needed to beat the Kings (38-22-11, 87 points) and
have Vegas beat St. Louis in the only other game of the night to
clinch. The Golden Knights won 2-1 in overtime, but the Canucks
couldn't get the job done in the seventh game of a season-high,
nine-game homestand.
Kevin Fiala also scored and goalie Cam Talbot made 21 saves for
the Kings, who opened a four-game road trip by moving to within
one point of the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific
Division. Kopitar finished with two points.
Sam Lafferty and Brock Boeser scored and Casey DeSmith stopped
16 shots for the Canucks, who are trying to lock down their
first division title since 2013.
Fiala opened the scoring 7:01 into the first as the Kings took
advantage of a neutral-zone turnover and bad line change by the
Canucks. Fiala took a pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois and snapped
home his 24th goal of the season.
Lafferty tied it 1-1 at 12:50 of the first on a superb
individual effort. Lafferty came off the side boards and drove
to the net where he split the defense. He showed veteran poise
by waiting for Talbot to go down and then tucked it in the
corner.
The Kings then scored two quick goals late in the second period
to break the 1-1 deadlock.
Lizotte made it 2-1 at 16:29. His shot from the right side
ricocheted off both skates of Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy
and slipped past goalie DeSmith, who was screened by Los
Angeles' Trevor Lewis.
Soon after that, Kopitar circled the net during a wild scramble
in front of the net. The puck squirted loose, allowing him to
tuck it into the open side with 1:40 left in the period.
Boeser rounded out the scoring with a third-period marker, but
the Canucks' late rally fell short.
--Field Level Media
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