Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson, left, of Sweden, and Ilya Mikheyev, of Russia, celebrate Pettersson's goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Friday, November 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Brock Boeser broke his goalless drought in dramatic fashion Friday, scoring twice to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 win over the L.A. Kings.
Elias Pettersson also had a two-goal night for the Canucks (6-9-3), while Andrei Kuzmenko and Quinn Hughes each notched a pair of assists.
Blake Lizotte responded for the Kings (11-8-1), redirecting a Sean Walker shot in midway through the second period.
L.A. outshot the home side 38-25 across the game and forced Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko to make 37 saves to collect his second win of the season.
In the opposite net, Jonathan Quick stopped 21-of-25 shots for the Kings.
The result marked the Canucks’ second win in a row following a 5-4 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo on Tuesday.
After going 11 games without a goal, Boeser put away his second of the night 5:07 into the third period.
The Kings turned the puck over deep in Canucks’ territory where Sheldon Dries picked it up and went streaking up the ice. He fired a shot on goal only to see Quick make a stop, but Boeser, stationed at the side of the net, was there to bat the rebound out of the air and in to make it 4-1.
L.A. nearly chipped away at the deficit 2:59 into the third when Anze Kopitar rang a shot off the post. Demko scrambled in the crease to find the puck with teammates Oliver Ekman-Larsson and J.T. Miller also searching in the blue paint.
Vancouver regained a two-goal cushion 14:50 into the second thanks to some persistent pressure.
With the Kings hemmed in their own zone, Kuzmenko sent a pass across the slot to Pettersson, who fired a shot past the diving Quick for his second goal of the game.
Sixty-four seconds earlier, L.A. got on the board when Lizotte redirected in Sean Walker’s shot from the side of the net to make it 2-1.
Walker’s cross-checking penalty gave the Canucks a man advantage midway through the frame.
Twenty seconds into the power play, Boeser tipped in Miller’s one-timer and put Vancouver up 2-0 with his long-anticipated first goal of the season. The elated right-winger celebrated with an emphatic double fist pump.
The Canucks were 1 for 3 on the power play Friday while L.A. went 0 for 2.
After a scoreless opening frame, the Kings stormed into the second, outshooting the home side 7-0 across the first five minutes.
The Canucks made their first chance count, though. Pettersson and his linemates broke out on an odd-man rush and the Swedish centre sent a wrist shot past Quick from the top hash marks to open the scoring on Vancouver’s first shot of the period.
GONE STREAKING
Boeser has points in six straight games for the Canucks, registering seven points (two goals, five assists) across the stretch. Miller is on a four-game point streak, with three goals and one assist.
INS AND OUTS
Forward Curtis Lazar returned to Vancouver’s lineup after missing 10 games with a hand injury. The Canucks sent Will Lockwood back to the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks in response.
UP NEXT
The Kings are back in action Saturday, completing a four-game road swing with a visit to the Kraken in Seattle. The Canucks will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2022.
