In Los Angeles Tuesday night, Anze Kopitar scored with 2:02 gone in extra time to complete the Kings’ rally from a 1-0 deficit to down the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1.
Kopitar and Jeff Carter collaborated on the play to get the Kings the two points.
“We were up next,” Kopitar said. “We looked at each other and kind of said that we want to get the whistle and get the 3-on-3 going. It worked out pretty well tonight.”
LA is now a perfect 4-0 in overtime this season.
“Those are huge points at the end of the year,” Kopitar said. “We all know that a huge part of us not making the playoffs was the shootout record and the overtime record, so getting the extra point was very important.”
Jacob Markstrom took the loss on 38 saves.
“It’s really tough,” Markstrom said. “We were winning the game for almost 50 minutes and then [they got] a goal in the third and overtime. It’s getting sick and tired right now losing in overtime. It’s no fun.”
Daniel Sedin scored at 7:39 of the first to stake the Canucks to an early 1-0 lead they held until Drew Doughty tied it up at 6:54 of the third.
“We’re never going to be denied,” Doughty said. “We know how important this game was. It was a division game for us, a team that’s just barely trailing us in the standings right now. We just never gave up. Our team has a lot of heart … we absolutely hate losing. That’s why we came back.”
Vancouver completed a less than stellar road trip at 1-1-2 and were coming off a 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
“We weren’t great in the third,” Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said. “They’re a good team, and we knew they’d come hard. They got some power plays in the third that makes a difference as well. We need to be more alert.”
Jonathan Quick got the win on 15 saves as the Kings improved to 15-8-1.
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