VANCOUVER — A promising season is beginning to slip away for the Vancouver Canucks. The team came into the campaign with hopes of a second straight playoff run, but 44 games in, the Canucks (19-15-10) are stuck in a slump and have fallen out of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot.

Alex Turcotte scored twice and notched an assist as the Los Angeles Kings thumped the struggling Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Thursday.

One of the biggest heading into this game is will the Canucks seek retribution on Tanner Jeannot? When these two teams met in November, Jeannot delivered a headshot to Brock Boeser, which resulted in a suspension for Jeannot and a concussion for Boeser.

Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault (24) shoots the puck past Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 7 ...

Top-pairing defenceman Filip Hronek is expected to return to the lineup when the Vancouver Canucks visit the Winnipeg Jets tonight.

They were singing in falsetto on Thursday in Vancouver, where Alex Turcotte’s two goals and his no-look assist to Adrian Kempe in the opening 9:42 of the match staked the Kings and lights-out goaltender Darcy Kuemper to a three-score advantage en route to a 5-1 win.

Alex Turcotte scored twice and notched an assist as the Los Angeles Kings thumped the struggling host Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Thursday. Turcotte’s first tally of the night came 51 seconds into the game and, before the end of the first period, the 23-year-old winger helped the Kings to a 3-0 lead.

Top-pairing defenceman Filip Hronek is expected to return to the lineup when the Vancouver Canucks visit the Winnipeg Jets tonight. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet says the 27-year-old Czech blueliner has been working hard and has tested his body over the last week.