FINAL – Kings 0, Canucks 4 – Edler, McLellan

The LA Kings completed a back-to-back set in Western Canada with a 4-0 defeat against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday evening at Rogers Arena.

The Kings got 26 saves from Cal Petersen in tonight’s defeat, as they were shutout for the third time this season.

Neither team found the back of the net in a relatively low-event first period. Shots on goal were 12-11 in favor of the Canucks, though the Kings had the higher quality of the chances, including a pair of shots from the slot – one apiece from Viktor Arvidsson and Arthur Kaliyev – and a breakaway effort from Adrian Kempe.

Vancouver opened the scoring in the second period, with a power-play goal, to take its first lead of the evening. Tanner Pearson fed Brock Boeser in the slot, where the latter’s shot took a deflection off of Drew Doughty’s skate and in for the tally. The Canucks built momentum off of that man advantage and capitalized through Conor Garland just over two minutes later. An initial shot was sticked off the endboards, but Garland collected the rebound and slotted it inside the near post to extend the Vancouver advantage to a pair.

The Canucks scored early in the third period to end any potential comeback effort, with Juho Lammikko tallying his first goal of the season. After Rasmus Kupari was checked in the cornet, the puck was turned over to Lammikko in a dangerous position, and he beat Petersen on the blocker side to extend the hosts’ lead to three.

As the third period progressed, Vancouver added one final goal, its second of the evening on the man advantage, to reach the final of 4-0. Boeser fed J.T. Miller in the right-hand circle for a one-timer, that went in on the glove side for the final tally of the evening.

Hear from Alex Edler, in his return to Vancouver, and Todd McLellan following tonight’s game.

Alex Edler

On tonight’s game
I think they came out hard, we were expecting them to come out like that, new coach, you want to make a good first impression. They came out hard, they played hard, they didn’t really give us a lot of room. We were just a step behind today.

On how much attention gets paid to a situation like a coaching change for the other team
You always focus on your own game, and what you need to do, but you always go through the other team too, to figure out what to expect.

On coming into the rink this morning, and what he learned about the situation in Vancouver
I just saw everything that was going on last night, and today obviously. It was nice to come in here this morning and see some of the guys, the trainers and everyone. It was nice.

On the reaction he received during the first period, coming back to Vancouver
It was great. This is a great building to play in, a great city to play in, the fans are great. That was a special moment for me and I’m forever thankful for what this city has done for me.

Todd McLellan

On Vancouver seizing momentum after they scored the first goal
I thought they kept pushing and we fell off a little bit. They had a little bit more in the tank than we did, and our pushback just faded as the game went on, they got better. We expected to get their best, we got it, and the backbreaker was obviously the third goal, which was preventable. After that, anything can happen in the NHL, but the way they were playing, the way we were playing, it was the nail in the coffin.

On looking at the weekend as a split on the road, versus a loss tonight, following a win
You take one event, on each given night. The guys played really well last night in Edmonton, we didn’t play nearly as well here. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the opposition, they really played a good game. We knew that we were going to get that from them and we couldn’t matchup tonight. When the guys that play a lot of minutes don’t have legs, we need some support from some secondary guys. There were times during the night when we had some of that, but certainly not enough.

On if he felt the Canucks played a different style, with a new coach
Bruce is a tremendous coach, so is Travis Green, I’m not sure how much a new staff can get done in a pre-game skate in the morning. We did our pre-scout based on what the players knew, but I don’t think it was a lot about systems, or anything like that. They were playing for a first impression and they played well. Tip our hat to them for that, but we have to answer the bell better than we did.

Notes –

– The Kings were shutout for the third time this season (10/25 @ STL, 11/17 vs. WSH)
– Defenseman Alex Edler played the first game of his career against the Vancouver Canucks, after he spent his first 15 seasons in the NHL with the franchise
– Forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Matt Roy led the Kings with five shots on goal apiece this evening
– Defenseman Drew Doughty led the Kings with 24:25 in total time on ice

The Kings are not scheduled to practice tomorrow, following the back-to-back and travel home. The team is set to return to the ice on Wednesday morning at Toyota Sports Performance Center.