Vancouver Canucks beat Kings in important showdown in Los Angeles

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      Going into today's game in Los Angeles, the Vancouver Canucks had a mere one-point lead over the Flames and two-point edge over the Kings in the race for the final two playoff spots in the Pacific Division.

      It wasn't lost on any of the players that a loss for Vancouver had the potential to seriously harm the Canucks' playoff chances.

      When the Kings jumped out to a 1-0 lead 24 seconds into the second period, some Canucks fans were probably feeling a sense of doom.

      It came just seven seconds after Dan Hamhuis had gone to the penalty box for roughing Kings captain Dustin Brown.

      The power-play goal by Marian Gaborik was his 22nd of the season, assisted by Kings stars Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar.

      But the Canucks didn't buckle, tying the game nearly 15 minutes later on a goal by Nick Bonino, his 13th of the year.

      Then at 4:31 of the third period, the Canucks power play broke out of a slump when Radim Vrbata beat Jonathan Quick.

      It came on a two-man advantage, this after Tyler Toffoli brutally boarded Alexander Burrows. Toffoli received a five-minute major and a game misconduct; Burrows needed assistance to reach the dressing room.

      Empty-net goals in the final minute by Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat put the game out of reach as the Canucks ended up with a 4-1 victory.

      Eddie Lack was solid in goal, blocking 25 of 26 shots. Quick was far busier, facing 40 shots in the Los Angeles net.

      So will Lack be back in goal tomorrow against the Arizona Coyotes? Or will head coach Willie Desjardins opt to put Jacob Markstrom in goal and save Lack for Tuesday's game at home against the Winnipeg Jets?

      All bets were off by the end of today's game.

      The Aquilini family, who own the Canucks, are probably breathing a sigh of relief over the outcome, given the potential damage that a loss might have done to the franchise's bottom line.

      That's because Canadian teams that don't make the playoffs—especially when the Canadian dollar trades below (US)$0.80—are more likely to bleed red ink, given that they pay players in U.S. currency.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Wat Tha

      Mar 21, 2015 at 6:31pm

      wtf - the game is over already? on a Saturday? both teams from the pacific time zone? so much for pizza and beer night...

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