Vancouver @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2018 ) Los Angeles 2, Vancouver 1

The Vancouver Canucks are in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference despite their current struggles. Vancouver hopes to remain close in the wild-card chase when it visits the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

The Canucks outshot Anaheim 35-22 on Wednesday but were thwarted at every turn as they dropped a 1-0 decision in the opener of their three-game road trip. Vancouver, which has lost five of its last six overall contests (1-4-1) and four straight away from home, trails Minnesota by two points for the second wild card as it looks to halt its playoff drought at three seasons. Los Angeles is kicking off a three-game homestand as it returns to Staples Center for the first time in more than three weeks. The Kings, who last played at home on Jan. 21, suffered a 6-4 loss at Washington on Monday to finish their season-high six-game road trip at 3-2-1 and sit eight points out of the second wild-card spot.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FS West (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (25-26-7): Brock Boeser has been kept off the scoresheet in back-to-back contests after notching at least one point in seven of his previous eight contests. The 21-year-old right wing is one goal away from his second straight 20-goal season and two points shy of 100 for his career. Bo Horvat tallied in consecutive games before being blanked Wednesday and needs two goals to match the career high of 22 he set last campaign.

ABOUT THE KINGS (23-28-5): Austin Wagner registered the second two-goal performance of his rookie season Monday, giving him three tallies in as many contests. Adrian Kempe and Tyler Toffoli are riding five-game point streaks, with each collecting four goals and three assists. Trevor Lewis notched an assist against the Capitals in his first game since Nov. 13 as the 32-year-old center missed 38 contests with a broken foot.

OVERTIME

1. Kings captain Anze Kopitar has landed on the scoresheet in seven of his last eight games, registering four goals and seven assists in that span.

2. Vancouver rookie C Elias Pettersson recorded two goals and three assists during a four-game point streak that came to an end Wednesday.

3. Los Angeles RW Dustin Brown's next point will be the 600th of his career.

PREDICTION: Canucks 4, Kings 3