Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Series at a glance: Vancouver-Los Angeles playoff preview

Kings vs Canucks

Schedule

All times are Eastern.

* - if necessary

Wednesday April 11 in Vancouver @ 10:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
Friday April 13 in Vancouver @ 10 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
Sunday April 15 in Los Angeles @ 10:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
Wednesday April 18 in Los Angeles @ 10 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
*Sunday April 22 in Vancouver @ TBD (TBD)
*Tuesday April 24 in Los Angeles @ TBD (TBD)
*Thursday April 26 in Vancouver @ TBD (TBD)

Three storylines to follow

1. Will Roberto Luongo be on a short leash? Luongo will start in Game 1, but what happens if he has a bad night? What if the Canucks lose two playoff games in a row? Backup Cory Schneider had a 1.96 GAA and .937 save percentage in 33 games this season, so he’s more than qualified to take over if Luongo struggles.

2. Are the Kings a better team than they were two years ago? In 2010, the Canucks beat the Kings in six games in their first-round series. Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, and goaltender Jonathan Quick made up the core of that 2010 squad and they are all still with Los Angeles and closer to their primes. Los Angeles has also added to their top two lines by acquiring Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, although the latter is day-to-day with an ankle injury.

3. The importance of coming out strong. The Canucks have shown an ability to battle back after they’ve fallen behind and Los Angeles largely hasn’t. The Kings had a 8-22-7 record when they surrendered the first goal of the game, which was the third worst in the NHL and particularly troubling given Vancouver’s propensity for scoring first. The Kings also had the second-worst winning percentage when trailing after either one or two periods. By comparison, the Canucks were the most likely team in the NHL to bounce back if they were trailing after one period.

Records

Vancouver: 51-22-9, 111 points (1st in Northwest; 1st in Western Conference) | Los Angeles: 40-27-15, 95 points (3rd in Pacific; 8th in Western Conference)

Leading scorers

Vancouver: Henrik Sedin (14G-67A-81PTS) | Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar (25G-51A-76PTS)

Starting goalies

Vancouver: Roberto Luongo (31-14-8, 2.41 GAA) | Los Angeles: Jonathan Quick (35-21-13, 1.95 GAA)

Head-to-head

Season series tied at 2-2
Nov. 10: Vancouver 3, at Los Angeles 2
Dec. 31: At Los Angeles 4, Vancouver 1
Jan. 17: Los Angeles 3, at Vancouver 2, SO
March 26: At Vancouver 1, Los Angeles 0

Last 10 games

Vancouver: 8-1-1 | Los Angeles: 5-2-3

Playoff history

Series tied 2-2
1982: Vancouver 4-1 (Smythe Division finals)
1991: Los Angeles 4-2 (Smythe Division semifinals)
1993: Los Angeles 4-2 (Smythe Division finals)
2010: Vancouver 4-2 (Western Conference quarterfinals)

2011 playoffs

Vancouver: Def. Chicago 4-3 (Western Conference quarterfinals); def. Nashville 4-2 (Western Conference semifinals); def. San Jose 4-1 (Western Conference finals); lost to Boston 4-3 (Stanley Cup finals) | Los Angeles: Lost to San Jose 4-2 (Western Conference quarterfinals)

Stanley Cups

Vancouver: None | Los Angeles: None

Injuries

Vancouver: Zack Kassian (upper body), Keith Ballard (concussion), Daniel Sedin (concussion), Aaron Volpatti (shoulder), Steve Pinizzotto (shoulder)

Los Angeles: Jeff Carter (ankle), Scott Parse (hip), Kevin Westgarth (hand), Simon Gagne (concussion)

[polldaddy poll=6118971]