FINAL – Kings 2, Canucks 1 (SO) – Lemieux, Danault, McLellan

The LA Kings got back in the win column with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Canucks on Thursday evening, closing out 2021 with a win on home ice.

Brendan Lemieux scored the lone goal in regulation, while Adrian Kempe and Viktor Arvidsson each scored in the shootout. Jonathan Quick earned his ninth victory of the season with 17 saves, as well as four on five shots in the shootout.

Following a scoreless first period, whic featured a span of 12:31 without a single stoppage, the Kings finally opened the scoring midway through the middle stanza.

After a hardworking shift by Blake Lizotte, who hounded the puck into the corner, the Kings forced a turnover deep in the offensive zone. Defenseman Christian Wolanin got the puck at the left point and sent a shot on goal, with Lemieux getting the deflection for his sixth tally of the season

Vancouver pushed back in the third period and converted on their only power-play opportunity of the evening to tie the game at one and eventually force overtime. JT Miller, while falling forward, swept a pass towards the back post, that Bo Horvat redirected in with his backhand to knot the score at one.

Despite several opportunities for the Kings to put the game away in regulation, and again in 3-on-3 overtime, the two teams eventually went to a shootout. After Adrian Kempe and Horvat traded goals in the first three rounds, Viktor Arvidsson scored in round five, before Jonathan Quick denied Tanner Pearson to seal the two points.

Hear from Lemieux, Phillip Danault and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s win.

Brendan Lemieux

Brendan Lemieux speaks to the media on his big game tonight👏@LAKings | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/mvK9iiHHIr

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) December 31, 2021

Phillip Danault

On getting back into action tonight and ending 2021 with a big win
Pretty good actually. We don’t like these guys too, so it was a good battle. It was a great win and a great answer from last game.

On his stamina after being out in COVID Protocol
A little tired, not going to lie. I was trying to manage my energy, but my wingers and the D did a great job when I was on the ice. They managed to play harder and get those loose pucks, that helps me big time. I thought it was a solid 60 minutes for the whole team.

On recovering from COVID versus an injury
I think the difference is when you have COVID, you can’t do anything at home, so when you get back, it takes a little bit more time. One practice yesterday, morning skate [today] and right back, but it felt good to be out there and get it out of the way, and a big win, so it couldn’t be better.

On the team getting back to their identity tonight
Yeah, I think against Vegas, we didn’t play our game at all, but tonight was outstanding. The first two periods, I thought we were all over them and we had a little letdown in the first five minutes of the third and then we stepped up at the end. Big character win for us.

On the speed tonight during the first period
I thought that was awesome. I don’t remember the last time we played almost a full period with no whistles. It was good, no timeouts, the boys can get going with four lines, I think everyone was alert and ready.

Todd McLellan

On if he felt the Kings got back to their identity tonight
Much better……yeah. I’m going to answer it with one word, yes.

On what changed most between Tuesday’s game and tonight
[The Vegas] game was hard to play, first of all, because of the time missed and we forgot how hard it was to win. We forgot who we were and we just needed to be reminded of that. We had a real good video session yesterday, we had a quick but aggressive practice and all of those things are important, but the most important thing is they decided they wanted to play to their identity tonight, for the most part. There’s still things we would like to do better, we’d like to put a team away when we have multiple opportunities in the second period, we have breakaways and penalty shots. We let them back in, but stuck with it and did it the hard way. Maybe that’s good for our team right now.

On if he liked how the Kings played in the third period tonight
Well, we knew they were going to have a push, that was coming, and what was interesting about the third period was the number of whistles. It was a very, very slow period, it dragged on. Whistle here, whistle there, when in the first two periods it wasn’t and that favors a team, I think, that didn’t play the night before. The number of whistles in the third favored them, they got to rest their better players, they got back on the ice, we lost a little bit of momentum, but we didn’t give up much. Goaltender made some saves when we needed him to and we found a way to win a game. The answer to that question is I think we can play it a little bit better, but the circumstances changed from the first two periods.

On what is easier for the players with so few whistles, like during the first period
I think players like rhythm, they like to get on, get off in a rhythm. If you asked each of them if they wanted to keep the TV timeouts they would say no, every one of them would say no, though we understand why we have them. They’d probably like to have the intermissions a little bit shorter and they’d like to just go. That’s not just our team, that’s players. They’re like racehorses, they want to run. When it gets slow, when it gets delayed, you can lose people.

On Jonathan Quick tonight and his response after he was pulled on Tuesday
When you pull a goaltender, sometimes you pull him because he’s just not very good, and there’s other times when you pull him just to get the team jolted a little bit. I think the other day was a bit more of the second, but I think he responded with a real good effort. Tough game for him to play, a lot early and then nothing in the middle and some chances in the third and overtime.

On Christian Wolanin’s game tonight
An excellent game tonight. In comparison, we had a good talk yesterday, pre-practice or post-practice I don’t remember which, about his value to the team, why we have him here, and how he’s going to stay in the National League. What keeps him in and what keeps him from playing full time. Tonight, he responded with a game that will keep him here full time.

Notes –

– Brendan Lemieux registered his sixth goal of the season, placing him three goals shy of his NHL career-high. Lemieux also attempted his first career penalty shot during the third period, which was saved by Jaroslav Halak.
– Christian Wolanin tallied his first assist as a member of the Kings. Wolanin has two points (1-1-2) over the last three games.
– Jonathan Quick stopped 17-of-18 shots to earn his ninth win of the season. Quick also improved to 2-1 in games decided by the shootout so far this season and is tied for fifth in the NHL in most shots faced (12) in shootouts this season.
– Viktor Arvidsson scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout, his first career shootout goal in the NHL.
– Anze Kopitar logged a season-high 26:14 tonight, marking just the fifth time since 2015 that he’s played more than 26 minutes in a regular-season game.
– Vancouver Head Coach Bruce Boudreau now has both his first win and his first loss behind the bench for the Canucks against the LA Kings.

The Kings are scheduled to skate tomorrow at Toyota Sports Performance Center at 11 AM.