Kings 3, Canadiens 2
LOS ANGELES -- Dwight King's third-period goal was the difference, and the Los Angeles Kings held on for a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Staples Center.
King stole the puck from Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban at center ice and scored on an unassisted tally at 5:16 of the third for a 3-1 edge. It was King's seventh goal this season.
Lars Eller, with an assist from Subban, pulled Montreal within a goal at 14:06 of the third, but the Kings held the Canadiens scoreless the rest of the way.
Jonathan Quick stopped 13 of 15 shots for Los Angeles.
Montreal goalie Ben Scrivens had 28 saves. The Canadiens (30-29-6) dropped their third in a row.
The Kings (38-21-4), who have won five of their last six contests, remained tied with the Anaheim Ducks atop the Pacific Division with 80 points each. The two rivals square off again for the second time in the past week on Saturday at Staples Center. Anaheim claimed a 4-2 verdict Sunday at Honda Center.
The win over the Canadiens allowed the Kings to capture the season series between the two. They recorded a 3-0 decision on Dec. 17 at Montreal.
Kris Versteeg, who the Kings acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, made his Los Angeles debut. Versteeg had two shots on goal in 5:42 of ice time.
Anze Kopitar scored 56 seconds into the contest, misdirecting a blast by Alec Martinez for his 19th goal of the season and a 1-0 Kings lead. Martinez earned his fifth point in three games.
Tanner Pearson followed with his 12th goal of the season less than three minutes later for a 2-0 Kings advantage. Pearson smoked a shot past Scrivens at 3:33 of the first period.
Subban cut the deficit in half, fielding a pass from Andrei Markov and ripping a slap shot from just outside the right circle by Quick with 1:28 remaining in the first. For Subban, it was his sixth of the season.
Los Angeles outshot Montreal 10 to 5 after one period, but the two teams finished the second with eight shots apiece, giving the Kings an 18-13 advantage through two periods.
NOTES: The Kings lead the league with seven wins after trailing through two periods. ... Los Angeles is 32-89-20 all-time against Montreal. The Kings are 22-40-9 at home. ... Canadiens LW Max Pacioretty is one of two players in the NHL with at least shot on goal in every game this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Vancouver Canucks LW Daniel Sedin is the other one. ... Montreal scratched D Victor Bartley, RW Sven Andrighetto and LW Lucas Lessio, while D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff were unavailable for Los Angeles.