Los Angeles Kings' Anze Kopitar, left, of Slovenia, and Vancouver Canucks' Chris Tanev fight for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Los Angeles.Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press
Radim Vrbata set up the tying goal by Nick Bonino in the second period and scored the go-ahead goal during a 5-on-3 power play in the third, leading the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Eddie Lack made 25 saves for Vancouver. The Kings, who have 11 games left, could have tied Vancouver for second place in the Pacific Division with a regulation win.
Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvath scored empty-net goals in the final minute.
Vrbata put the Canucks ahead 2-1 at 4:31 of the third with his 27th goal, playing the puck off the end boards after a long slap shot by Alex Edler and putting it past Jonathan Quick while he was out of position. Quick finished with 38 saves.
Vrbata's goal came 26 seconds after Tyler Toffoli received a boarding major and game misconduct for cross-checking Alex Burrows into the boards from behind while they were in front of the Kings' bench. There was about a minute left on Drew Doughty's slashing penalty at the time.
Marian Gaborik opened the scoring with his 22nd goal, getting a pass from Doughty and using defenceman Edler as a screen before beating Lack to the glove side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. It came just 24 seconds into the second period and seven seconds after Dan Hamhuis got a roughing penalty.
Anze Kopitar earned his 600th point on the play after winning a faceoff deep in the Vancouver zone against Bonino. But Bonino made up for it by scoring the tying goal at 14:54 of the second.
Kevin Bieksa started the play from his zone, flipping the puck across two lines and finding Vrbata standing at the Kings' blue line along the right boards. Vrbata was about to get checked by Brayden McNabb when he flipped a pass into the low slot, where Bonino played the bouncing puck and put it over Quick's left shoulder for his 13th goal.
Quick got slammed in the crease by Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin at 16:55 of the second period, after he made the save on a 55-foot wrist shot by Daniel Sedin and covered the puck while on his knees. Quick and Henrik Sedin both received roughing penalties following their impromptu wrestling match at the left of the net.
NOTES: Quick has 18 penalty minutes — two more than Gaborik and eight more than Kopitar. The 2012 playoff MVP had only 12 PIMs in his first seven NHL seasons combined. ... The Canucks, who came in with the league's third-best penalty-killing rate (85.7), had allowed five goals in 46 short-handed situations over their previous 17 games — including all seven on March 14 against Toronto. ... Vancouver was 2 for 27 on the power play over their previous 12 games. ... The Kings have allowed just four goals in 56 short-handed situations over their past 21 games. ... The season series concludes April 6 at Vancouver.