LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks secured a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, powered by a standout performance from Quinn Hughes, who recorded a goal and an assist. The win was particularly significant as it came after the Canucks lost their leading scorer, Brock Boeser, who left the game due to an illegal hit to the head by Kings forward Tanner Jeannot. Boeser, who had an impressive 40 goals last season and has already netted six this year, did not return after sustaining his injury.

Following the incident with Boeser, the Canucks capitalized on a five-minute power play when Conor Garland scored, leveling the game at one goal apiece. In addition to Garland’s goal, Jake DeBrusk and J.T. Miller found the back of the net for Vancouver, while goaltender Kevin Lankinen made 25 saves to help secure the win. On the Kings’ side, Quinton Byfield and Vladislav Gavrikov each scored, with Darcy Kuemper stopping 19 shots in goal.

Adding to the Kings’ struggles, defenseman Mikey Anderson also exited the match due to injury, suffering a severe cut from a shot by Filip Hronek that struck him in the face late in the second period.

Takeaways from the game indicate that Vancouver will need to tread carefully regarding Boeser’s health, as his absence for an extended period could severely hinder their aspirations of making the playoffs for a second consecutive year, which they haven’t achieved since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Meanwhile, Kings player Byfield managed to score for the second straight game after failing to do so in his first 13 games of the season.

A key moment of the night involved Hughes, who demonstrated his agility to gain space and launched a shot from distance that put the Canucks ahead 3-1 early in the third period.

Statistically, Hughes has been on fire recently, accumulating a goal and five assists over his last three games, giving him a total of 14 points, which ranks him third among defensemen in the league—trailing only Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche with 25 points and Josh Morrissey from the Winnipeg Jets with 16.

Looking ahead, the Canucks will face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday as they kick off a six-game homestand. Meanwhile, the Kings will prepare to host the Columbus Blue Jackets.