Los Angeles @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2019 ) Vancouver 5, Los Angeles 3

Vancouver entered its holiday break on a high note by securing three consecutive victories over teams currently holding playoff positions - Vegas, Pittsburgh and Edmonton. The Canucks will look to keep it going Saturday when they finish off a five-game homestand against Los Angeles, which they’ve outscored 13-5 in two games this season.

The Canucks became the first team this season to earn a win against Edmonton when trailing after two periods as rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes recorded his first career game-winning goal to help lift Vancouver to a 4-2 triumph over the Oilers on Monday. “(Hughes) was really good tonight,” Canucks coach Travis Green told reporters. “We talked to our group before tonight about the importance of going into the break and you want your players to rise to the occasion. And for a young guy, he did that.” The Kings faced a similar script to Vancouver’s as they trailed 2-0 heading into the third period Friday against San Jose but it was a seasoned veteran who supplied the heroics as Jeff Carter completed the comeback by burying the overtime winner to give Los Angeles a 3-2 victory. An illness to forward Dustin Brown opened the door for right winger Martin Frk to be recalled from the American Hockey League and the 26-year-old made his presence felt during his Kings debut Friday as he scored both third period goals - doubling his one-goal output from the 30 games he played last season with the Red Wings.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), CBC, Sportsnet, CITY (Vancouver)

ABOUT THE KINGS (16-20-4): Goaltender Jack Campbell improved his record to 6-6-2 by stopping 22 shots against San Jose but is expected to hand the crease over to Jonathan Quick on Saturday, who has a .824 save percentage while surrendering 13 goals in two losses to Vancouver this season. Captain Anze Kopitar leads the team with 14 goals and 33 points and is tied with defenseman Drew Doughty with a team-best 19 assists. The Kings have the third-fewest victories in the NHL but Carter has amassed six game-winning goals - tied for the most in the league.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (19-15-4): Bo Horvat’s 10th goal of the season tied the game in the third period Monday but it was his first goal in front of the home fans since the 24-year-old was named team captain during the home opener Oct. 9. “It definitely felt good to get that one,” Horvat told the media. “What a feeling to get that one at home and it couldn’t have come at a better time and to get a big win out of it was even better.” J.T. Miller has a team-best seven goals on the man advantage this season while Vancouver’s 37 power-play goals are the most in the NHL.

OVERTIME

1. Vancouver is 13-3-0 this season when scoring the first goal.

2. Los Angeles has the NHL’s second-worst success rate on the power play (12.9 percent).

3. Canucks D Alex Edler returned Monday after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury and is two goals shy of 100 for his career.

PREDICTION: Canucks 5, Kings 1