In Vancouver, the Los Angeles Kings hung a 4-1 loss on the Canucks on Sunday. With the win, the Kings clinched a layoff berth.
“I don’t want to say it’s a relief, because we’ve sensed that’s been coming, but once you get that asterisk by your name you can breathe a little bit,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “That’s a [heck] of an accomplishment for our group.”
The Kings improved to 45-22-10.
Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves in the LA win.
“A good feeling,” LA’s Anze Kopitar said. “Second year in a row. That’s a sign that the team is trending in the right direction, and we like where we’re at, but we still have five games, so got to focus on those and make sure we’re sharp going into the playoffs.”
Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks early in the first for a 1-0 lead.
Alex Iafallo scored the first of a double at 13:02 to tie the game, 1-1.
“Just had to hammer it home,” Iafallo said.
Vancouver dropped to 34-35-7 on their third straight loss.
“We pretty much knew a couple of games ago it was unrealistic to make it,” Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson said. “But we still play with pride and try to build for next season. So, these games are important. We have six games left to build.”
Iafallo picked up his double off the power play at at 3:24 of the middle frame for a 2-1 lead to the Kings.
“Good shot by ‘Arvy,’ and I just had to tap it in,” Iafallo said of putting home a rebound of a shot by Viktor Arvidsson.
“He’s the utility guy,” Kopitar said of Iafallo. “You can use him in every position possible, minus the goalie. He can play up the lineup, down the lineup, PP, PK, he does it all, and it’s obviously great to see him getting rewarded and get his confidence up a little bit, and it’s happening at the right time.”.
Arthur Kaliyev scored at 13:35 of the third period to extend the LA lead to 3-1.
“Dangerous when the puck is on his tape in the offensive zone, and he showed why again today,” McLellan said. “Shoot and follow and put another one in. He’s the one guy in our lineup that can do that often and got rewarded.”
Blake Lizotte added an empty-net goal for the 4-1 final with 49 seconds left on the game clock.
Thatcher Demko made 21 saves in the loss.
“It just doesn’t feel like we’re that hard to play against. It feels a little soft,” Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. “I don’t know for some reason why we feel like that’s OK as a group. And I know I’m being a little harsh right now, but I don’t like not playing the right way and not being assertive. We have a million reasons to be playing hard right now. It just seems like other teams are having their way with us a little bit.”
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