LOS ANGELES – Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks overcame the loss of leading scorer Brock Boeser to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Thursday night.
Boeser, who scored a career-high 40 goals last season and leads Vancouver with six this year, did not return after taking an illegal check to the head from Kings forward Tanner Jeannot.
Conor Garland scored on the ensuing five-minute power play after Jeannot was assessed a match penalty, tying the score at 1. Jake DeBrusk and JT Miller also scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 25 saves.
Quinton Byfield and Vladislav Gavrikov scored for Los Angeles, and Darcy Kuemper finished with 19 saves.
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson also left the game due to injury. He suffered a serious cut after taking a shot from Filip Hronek in the face late in the second period.
Takeaways
Canucks: If Boeser is out for an extended period of time, it would be terribly damaging to Vancouver’s hopes of reaching the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Kings: Byfield scored for the second straight game after failing to find the net in the opening 13 games to start the season.
Vancouver Canucks left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Jayne Kamin-Oncea
Key moment
Hughes showed some nice footwork to create separation, allowing him to fire a shot from distance that gave the Canucks a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
Key stat
Hughes has a goal and five assists in his past three games, and his 14 points rank third among defensemen behind Colorado’s Cale Makar (25) and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey (16).
Next
The Canucks face the Oilers on Saturday to start a six-game homestand, and the Kings host the Blue Jackets.