Kempe's OT winner lifts Kings over Canucks

Adrian Kempe came through in the clutch Saturday night, using his overtime score to lift the Los Angeles Kings over the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena. The victory improved them to 12-6-7 after taking down Vancouver in the two squads' first matchup of the season.

Kempe's third overtime game-winning goal of the year came with just over a minute remaining in the period as Quinton Byfield's dish set him up with a direct shot towards an open net. Byfield tallied his 15th assist of the season in the process, overtaking Kempe for the team lead.

Picking up the secondary assist was Kevin Fiala, earning his eighth of the season. Fiala now has 18 points in 21 career games played against the Canucks.

Earlier in the contest, Kempe helped the Kings establish a 1-0 advantage after tallying an assist on Anze Kopitar's first-period score. Kopitar notched his fifth goal of the season with just under three minutes to play in the opening period, firing a straight-on shot past Vancouver netminder Kevin Lankinen.

The Kings' captain has now scored 304 career goals at even strength, tying Dave Taylor for the third-most such goals in franchise history. It was also Kopitar's 62nd career point against the Canucks, bringing him even with Leon Draisaitl for the second-most amongst active skaters behind only Connor McDavid.

Evander Kane had the response for Vancouver early in the second period, evening the score at one after getting loose on a breakaway and slipping the puck past Anton Forsberg. Despite the goal, Forsberg remained sound the rest of the way, keeping the Canucks from adding any more scores and improving to 4-2-2.

Forsberg saved 19 of the 20 shots he saw, earning his first victory since a 1-0 shutout performance over the Senators on Nov. 15. It was the first-ever win of the 33-year-old's career against Vancouver.

Los Angeles will return to action again on Tuesday evening, hosting the Washington Capitals. The Capitals took down the Kings 2-1 in their only prior matchup this season back on Nov. 17, and have since gone on to win five of their next six contests.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.