Vancouver, BC
Dustin Brown scored a pair of two short-handed goals, tying an NHL record, helping the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-2 playoff upset of the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks, in Game 2 of this Western Conference quarterfinal series at Rogers Arena.
Brown also had an assist, as the Kings take a commanding 2-0 series lead in this best-of-seven series.
Brown opened up the scoring in the final seconds of the opening frame after converting a rebound off an attempt by Anze Kopitar, who intercepted Alex Edler's drop pass in the Vancouver end before trying to deke Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo.
That goal came with former Canucks forward Willie Mitchell in the penalty box for holding.
After Vancouver tied it at 1-1 via a Jannik Hansen tap-in from the blue line just 17 seconds into the middle frame, the Kings answered with Brown scoring his second shorthanded goal for a 2-1 lead.
The huge goals from Brown enabled the Kings right-winger and team captain to tie an NHL single-game playoff record. It also marked the third time in franchise history that the Kings had scored two short-handed goals in playoff tilt.
It also highlighted an overall strong effort from the special teams of the pumped-up Kings, who apart from Brown's two short-handed tallies also received another from Jarrett Stoll at 8:30 in the third on the power play.
The Kings, who are in the playoffs for a third straight season, but haven't captured a series since 2001 over Detroit in the conference quarterfinals, are now 3-for-12 in this series with man-advantage.
Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis also lit the lamp for the eighth-seeded Kings, while Jonathan Quick was also brilliant in the net as he made 46 saves.
The Presidents' Trophy champion Canucks played better in Game 2 than they did in the opener, but their reinvigorated offense which resulted to 48 shots was not enough to help their cause.
Samuel Pahlsoon accounted for the other Vancouver goal, while Luongo was touched for all four goals on 27 shots.
Vancouver, which missed the services of Daniel Sedin, the concussed winger who was the team's leading goal-scorer this season, struggled anew with its power play. The Canucks were 0-for-4 on the power play Friday and are now 0-for-9 for the series.
It marked the first time in the 42-year history of the Canucks that the team have dropped the opening two contests of a playoff series at home.
The Canucks, who entered this postseason as the defending Western Conference champions, hope to bounce back as the series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.
Twitter: @ihavenet
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