Canucks' Luongo shuts out Kings

Roberto Luongo made 20 saves for his career-high eighth shutout of the season, Ryan Kesler scored on a second-period power play and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 on Thursday night.

Luongo faced one fewer shot all game than he did in the first period in a 46-save, 4-1 win over Calgary on Tuesday night. The 13th-place Kings only fired 13 shots through two periods — four fewer than Luongo saw the first 10 minutes against the Flames.

The Canucks moved two points ahead of idle Calgary atop the Northwest Division, but the Flames still control their own destiny in race for the third seed in the Western Conference, and can clinch both by matching Vancouver over their final two games.

The Canucks will close the regular season in Colorado on Saturday, while the Flames, who have the tiebreaker with more wins, will finish with a home-and-home series against Edmonton on Friday and Saturday.

With Anze Kopitar in the penalty box for holding Mats Sundin behind the net, Kesler — honored as the Canucks' MVP in a ceremony before the game — banged in a rebound of a hard shot from Sundin at the top of the ... // 66% Remaining