The Vancouver Canucks (29-33-5) travel to face the Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9) at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday. Vancouver is coming off a 3-2 loss against the Coyotes on Thursday, ending a streak of five consecutive wins.
The Canucks conceded two power play goals while failing to take advantage of their own power play opportunities. Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko each scored once for the Canucks.
Pettersson added an assist to share the scoring lead with Anthony Beauvillier, who had two assists. Thatcher Demko saved only 24 of 27 shots against (.888%) in the loss. Los Angeles beat the Blue Jackets 4-1 on Thursday.
Four players found the net for the Kings. Carl Grundstrom scored and provided an assist to lead the team in scoring. Pheonix Copley was impressive in the win, making 29 saves (.966%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Canucks won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-1 victory in November. Four players had two points for Vancouver. Blake Lizotte scored Los Angeles’ only goal. Demko got the win, saving 37 of 38 shots (.973%).
FACING OFF
Vancouver is averaging 3.34 goals per game for the season, 11th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Kings team that is allowing 3.22 goals a game (17th).
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has found the net 3.35 times a game on average, 10th in the league, and the Canucks are allowing opponents to score 3.78 goals per game (31st).
The Kings’ 24.24% power play percentage ranks sixth in the league, while the Canucks are 11th with a conversion rate of 22.22%. While strong on the power play, Vancouver has been less impressive at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s lowest PK% at 68.69%. Los Angeles’ 76.29% ranks 22nd in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 85 points this season, ninth-most in the NHL, Pettersson is the top skater for the Canucks. He is among the league leaders with 54 assists (10th) and has added 31 goals of his own. In the net, Demko (8-12-2) is Vancouver’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 3.40 GAA and a .895% save percentage. Spencer Martin (11-15-1) leads the Canucks in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.99 and a save percentage of .871%.
Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar lead the Kings in scoring with 68 and 63 points, respectively. Fiala has 22 goals and 46 assists, while Kopitar has 26 goals and 37 assists. Copley (21-4-3) has the best goals against average for Los Angeles at 2.63. He has a save percentage of .904%.
HOME AND AWAY
Vancouver is 13-16-4 away from Rogers Arena this season. Los Angeles is 22-9-3 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
LA Kings (-190)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
