Canucks edge Kings, 2-1
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Henrik Sedin scored early in the second period as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Tuesday night.
Loui Eriksson also scored for the Canucks (15-18-3) who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Tanner Pearson scored for the Kings (17-14-4).
Canuck goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 36 shots. L.A. goalie Peter Budaj stopped 18 shots. The Canucks had just 14 shots in their last game.
Vancouver has three wins in their last nine games (3-5-1). The Kings have one win in their last five games (1-2-2).
Pearson scored the Kings' goal at 16:43 of the third on their 15th shot of the period. He took a pass from Jeff Carter, spun around and fired a puck that deflected off the stick of Vancouver's Alex Burrows and past Miller.
The Canucks were outshot 13-4 in the second period but still emerged with a 2-0 lead after Sedin scored with 23 seconds gone in the period.
The play started with Troy Stecher taking an innocent looking shot from just inside the blue line. Sedin, standing in front of the net, managed to tip the bouncing puck past Budaj for his eighth goal of the season.
It was the first time since Dec. 8 Vancouver held a 2-0.
Miller made a couple of his best saves of the night during the period. Trevor Lewis managed to get free in front of the net but Miller got a glove on his shot. A little later Anze Kopitar picked up a rebound and took a shot that ended up under Miller's pad.
The Canucks used an early power-play goal to lead 1-0 after the first period.
The game was just 54 seconds old when Jake Muzzin was called for high sticking Eriksson. During the power play, Bo Horvat won a battle along the boards and sent a pass between his legs to Eriksson in the corner. He skated out untouched and beat Budaj on the far side for his seventh of the season at 2:43.
It was the first goal the Kings allowed in 27 penalty kills over nine games. It also was the third consecutive game Vancouver had scored first.
NOTES: D Alex Edler returned to the Canucks' lineup after missing 13 games with a broken finger. ... RW Jannik Hansen is out four-to-six weeks with a knee injury suffered in a Dec. 22 loss to Winnipeg. ... RW Jayson Megna, a healthy scratch in a 4-1 loss Dec. 23 in Calgary, will take Hansen's place on the top line with C Henrik Sedin and LW Daniel Sedin. ... Healthy scratches were RW Anton Rodin, D Alex Biega and D Andrey Pedan. ... The Canucks' homestand continues Friday against Anaheim. ... RW Dustin Brown started on the top line with C Anze Kopitar and LW Marin Gaborik for the first time since L.A. won the 2014 Stanley Cup. ... C Tyler Toffoli (lowery body), who has missed two games, isn't expected to return for at least another week. ... The Kings were playing the eighth of nine consecutive road games. ... LW Tom Gilbert was a healthy scratch. ... The Kings' road trip continues Friday in Edmonton.