LOS ANGELES — Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in his 27th NHL shutout, Dustin Brown scored early in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings beat Vancouver 1-0 on Monday night for their fourth win over the Canucks this season.
Brown converted on a 3-on-1 rush just 24 seconds into the final period of a fight-filled game for the Kings, and Quick was unbeatable while making his fifth consecutive start since returning from a 24-game injury absence.
The U.S. Olympic goalie posted his second shutout of the season and his first since Nov. 7, a week before he severely strained his groin.
Eddie Lack stopped 19 shots in his fourth straight start for the Canucks, who were shut out for the first time all season during their sixth loss in seven games.
Lack is filling in for Roberto Luongo, who got hurt in a collision with Brown in the teams’ earlier meeting this month.
Neither team scored in the first two periods of the Canucks’ second visit to Staples Center in 10 days, but both made a steady parade to the box with a combined 103 penalty minutes — the most in any Kings game this season.
Although things calmed down in the third, the newfound Pacific Division rivals showcased their simmering rivalry in a chippy game that included a scrap between Brown and Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler, who will be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team in four weeks.
Los Angeles won for just the third time in 10 games, but stayed ahead of fourth-place Vancouver in the division standings. The Kings hadn’t beaten the Canucks four times in a season since the 1990-91 campaign.
“We just don’t like them very much, so they’re always going to get our best effort,” forward Jordan Nolan said.
After managing just 15 goals in the past nine games, the Kings shuffled their low-scoring lineup, inserting Nolan, Matt Greene and Tanner Pearson while scratching Alec Martinez, Matt Frattin and Colin Fraser.
The first period featured 53 penalty minutes and four power plays, including an 8:13 man-advantage stretch for the Kings after Tom Sestito was ejected for attempting to instigate a fight with Nolan, who didn’t even drop his stick. Los Angeles could do nothing with the long power play, which including a two-man advantage for 48 seconds.
The second period began with Kesler pulling Brown’s jersey over his head and punching him just 6 seconds in. Greene later tossed Kevin Bieksa to the ice with a judo-style throw.
Los Angeles finally broke through when Vancouver’s defence ended up out of position to stop the Kings’ top three offensive players on a 3-on-1, with Brown batting home a rebound of Anze Kopitar’s shot for his 10th goal.
NOTES: Los Angeles begins a five-game trip in St. Louis on Thursday, returning to Southern California for back-to-back games against Anaheim. The Kings don’t play at Staples Center again until Jan. 30 while the Grammys take over the building, but they will have a “home” game at Dodger Stadium against the Ducks on Jan. 25. … Luongo was scratched, and Joacim Eriksson backed up Lack.
