LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings were led by their best players. The Vancouver Canucks’ best players are injured.
The Kings are trying to win a Stanley Cup. The Canucks are trying to learn.
It looked like a mismatch and judging by the final score, it was. But the Canucks, too young and too weak to take down a Stanley Cup favourite, battled gamely for 51 minutes Monday before third-period goals less than a minute apart by Jeff Carter and Vince Lecavalier opened up a tight game and sent the Kings to a 5-1 National Hockey League victory.