Kings’ past haunts them in shootout after Canucks’ Tanner Pearson scores winning goal

Reporting from VANCOUVER, British Columbia —  Tanner Pearson scored in the fourth round of the shootout and the Vancouver Canucks kept their faint playoff hopes alive, beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 Thursday night.

Brock Boeser and Alex Edler scored in regulation for the Canucks, who are seven points behind Colorado for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with four games to play. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Canucks.

Quinn Hughes, selected seventh overall by Vancouver in 2018, earned an assist in his NHL debut.

Austin Wagner and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings.

Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko made 37 saves in regulation. Jonathan Quick stopped 36 of 38 shots for the Kings.

Los Angeles opened the scoring 12:56 into the first period when Wagner poked the puck at Demko from the side of the net. The goalie flattened out in his crease but couldn’t contain the rebound. Instead, it popped out to a waiting Wagner who chipped the puck off the crossbar and into the net.

Vancouver responded on the power play midway through the second, after Kings right-winger Carl Grundstrom was called for interference.

Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson got the puck to Edler at the point and he scored on a hard shot between Quick and the post.

The goal was the 94th of Edler’s career, making him the Canucks’ franchise leader in goals by a defenseman.

It was the Canucks’ newest defenseman who set up the second goal of the night less than a minute later.

Hughes made a move pas Kings center Trevor Lewis below the Kings’ goal line, escaping his check and gaining time and space to get back out front and put a shot on net. His shot ricocheted off the post to Boeser, who fired a wrist shot past Quick.

Kempe tied the score again 11:47 into the third period after Canucks left-winger Loui Eriksson turned the puck over in the defensive zone.

Lewis picked it up and sent a cross-ice pass to Kempe at the hash marks and the Kings center sent a wrist shot past Demko.

The Vancouver trio of Hughes, Boeser and Pettersson put on a show in overtime, but couldn’t score.