Boeser has hat trick in Canucks win against Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Brock Boeser had a hat trick as part of a four-point game, Elias Pettersson also had four points, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 at Staples Center on Wednesday.

Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist, Quinn Hughes had three assists, and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Canucks (8-3-1), who scored four times on the power play.
"They were finding seams, picking pockets, scoring goals like it was no problem] tonight," Horvat said of Boeser and Pettersson. "They're fun to watch, fun to play with those guys on the power play, and my job is to give 'em outs in the middle."
***[WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Kings highlights]*
Jeff Carter scored two goals and Anze Kopitar had two assists to reach 901 NHL points for the Kings (4-9-0), who lost their fourth straight. Jonathan Quick made 44 saves.
Boeser got his third NHL hat trick when his shot redirected off Drew Doughty's skate 55 seconds into the third period to put the Canucks ahead 4-2. It was the second power-play goal of the game for Boeser, who has scored in three straight and has five goals in that span.
Pettersson made it 5-2 at 15:46 with the Canucks' fourth power-play goal. He has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) during a five-game point streak, including four games with multiple assists.

It was the third time this season the Kings have allowed at least three power-play goals in a game.
"I think when you use the word 'discipline,' you're thinking of penalties, and certainly that's the case tonight," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "Two hooking, two [slashing], two tripping, six minors. Not against that power play, and [not] when your penalty kill is struggling as mightily as ours."
Carter scored his second of the game at 18:49 for the 5-3 final.
The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 3:53 of the first period when Carter scored on a backhand after Kopitar found him alone in the slot on the rush.

Kopitar is the fifth Kings player with 900 points, joining Marcel Dionne (1,307), Luc Robitaille (1,154), Dave Taylor (1,069), and Wayne Gretzky (918).
"Well, it will probably take a little while before that sinks in," said Kopitar, who reached the mark in 1,016 games. "But, yeah, I knew it was coming up. I figured it would be a good time to do it tonight, but, unfortunately, it's obviously bittersweet cause we lost."
Boeser tied it 1-1 on the power play with a sharp-angle shot from the left circle at 17:39. Pettersson's initial slap shot one-timer was blocked back to Hughes, who got the puck back to Pettersson. He wound up for another one-timer, only to find Boeser across the zone with a slap pass, the first of his three assists.
"Our power play is really clicking right now, and I think we're starting to really have some good chemistry up there just kind of reading and knowing what each guy is going to do, so I think that's huge and we got to make sure we keep going," Boeser said.
The Canucks took a 2-1 lead at 19:34 when Horvat tipped a long shot by Hughes on a power play.
Adrian Kempe tipped Kopitar's pass on the power play to tie it 2-2 at 10:06 of the second period.
Boeser put the Canucks back in front 3-2 at 15:17 on a backhand after catching the Kings in a line change.

They said it

"People don't understand the second year is a lot tougher than the first year. He's having to fight for every inch of ice, so he's learning, and he's still producing for our team." -- Canucks forward Brock Boeser on Elias Pettersson
"We can talk about lines and combinations and sitting guys out and all that type of stuff. The penalty kill is the story. That's where we're at." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan

Need to know

Canucks forward Micheal Ferland did not return after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period. Coach Travis Green did not know the extent of the injury and could not say if it happened with Ferland fought Kyle Clifford at 6:28 of the first, his last shift of the game. … Pettersson had three assists for the second straight game. … Kings forward Tyler Toffoli was scratched to end his streak of consecutive games played at 207. Toffoli had the 19th longest streak of consecutive games played among active NHL players coming into Wednesday, tied with Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau. …. Canucks forward Tanner Pearson played in his 400th NHL game. … Kempe played in his 200th NHL game. … The Kings have allowed five goals in each of the past four games.

What's next

Canucks: At the Anaheim Ducks on Friday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, SNP, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)