Kings lose the lead and game to Canucks

Bryan Smolinski, Taylor Pyatt and Matt Cooke scored in the second period to help the Vancouver Canucks rally from a two-goal deficit and defeat the Kings, 4-2, on Tuesday night.

Markus Naslund scored into an empty net with 31.2 seconds left, and Roberto Luongo made 15 saves to help the Canucks stay three points ahead of Minnesota atop the Northwest Division. Vancouver can clinch the division title with a victory over Colorado on Thursday night.

Derek Armstrong and Dustin Brown scored power-play goals for the Kings, who held a 2-0 lead 2:50 into the second period.

Smolinski one-timed a power-play shot past Mathieu Garon from the slot less than 2 1/2 minutes after Brown’s goal, and Pyatt tied it at 13:26 by driving to the net and redirecting a pass out of the corner from Jan Bulis.

Cooke completed the comeback on a power-play goal with 51.9 seconds left in the second period, jamming the puck under Garon after a scramble at the side of the net.

Garon finished with 28 saves for the Kings, who have lost five in a row.

Vancouver finished two for six on the power play against the Kings’ last-ranked penalty kill. The Kings were two for five against the Canucks’ top-ranked penalty kill, failing twice to tie the score on third-period man advantages.

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The Kings’ Michael Cammalleri has been selected to play for Team Canada in the 2007 World Championships in Moscow on April 27-May 13.

Cammalleri has 32 goals and 76 points this season.

Kings’ associate head coach Mike Johnston has been named an assistant coach for Canada.

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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.