Los Angeles Kings Dominantly Defeat St. Louis Blues 5-1

The Los Angeles Kings dominated the St. Louis Blues at Staples Center, winning 5-1 behind multi-goal performances from both Jake Muzzin and Tanner Pearson.

The Blues had beaten the Kings in the last 3 contests between the two squads prior to this one. A win for the Kings in this this game would put the team back in possession of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Scratches for the Kings were Tom Gilbert, Andy Andreoff, and Matt Greene. Kevin Gravel was swapped in for Greene after being scratched for the last two games. The scratches for the Blues were Brad Hunt and Dmitrij Jaskin.

The power play of the Kings has been especially solid as of late, and they made their presence felt early in the game. Jori Lehtera was whistled for a double minor after high sticking Derek Forbort at 2:32 into the period.

Muzzin proceeded to blast the puck past Jake Allen far post from the left side at 3:18 into the period. Drew Doughty and Nic Dowd got the assists.

Nick Shore was called for high sticking Kyle Brodziak at 7:24 into the period. They killed off the penalty, but soon after it concluded, Doughty sent Robby Fabbri head first into the boards and was whistled for boarding at 9:49 into the period. The Kings would eventually kill off that penalty as well.

The Kings closed out the period on a high note. Trevor Lewis got a one-on-one against Alex Pietrangelo, who backed up and allowed Lewis to get the shot off against Allen.

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Good things happen when you get the puck to the net, and although Allen probably should’ve saved it, credit Lewis for capitalizing on the opportunity far post. Alec Martinez and Marian Gaborik got the assists at 18:12 into the period.

Although the Blues outhit the Kings 13-8 in that opening period, they were outshot 12-6 and found themselves in a 2-0 hole heading into the 1st intermission.

Muzzin scored his second goal of the game at 4:43 into the 2nd period on a centering pass from Kopitar. Muzzin one-timed it and got Allen pulled from the game. Gaborik got the other assist.

Carter Hutton was sent in to provide the Blues with some relief in goal, but things didn’t get better right away. Less than a minute later at 5:34 into the period, Pearson sent a rocket past Hutton on the first shot the backup goaltender faced. Dustin Brown and Jeff Carter got the assists.

The second period began to resemble the 3rd period of the Dallas game with its scoring flurry. Less than two minutes later at 7:29 into the period, Paul Stastny put the Blues on the board with a goal that he deflected in off his skate. Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz got the assists. 

At 11:17 into the period, Jaden Schwartz went to the penalty box after being called for holding Kopitar. The Blues killed it off after giving up just 1 shot on goal during the ensuing power play.

The Kings continued their domination as the period wound down. At 19:48 into the period, Pearson got his 2nd goal of the game. Carter dumped it in front of the net from the corner and Pearson was able to hit it in on his own rebound. Brown got the other assist.

As the period concluded, Ryan Reaves and Kyle Clifford had a bit of a dust-up that resulted in both players receiving 10 minute misconduct penalties. The game looked well out of reach at that point, and some frustrations were boiling over from the Blues.

The Kings outshot the Blues 11-2 in that second period, and the 3rd period looked like merely a formality at this point.

The Kings came into this game 12-1-1 this season while leading after 2 periods. This team knows how to close games out.

The Blues opened up the 3rd with some signs of life, clanking a puck off the post. St. Louis also jumped on the power play when Muzzin was called for hooking Vladimir Tarasenko at 1:21 into the period.

The Blues got 4 shots on net against Budaj on that power play, but the Kings managed to kill it off.

The Blues were closing the gap in shots on goal, and hit another post about 5 minutes into the period. They had the first 8 shots on goal of the period, refusing to go quietly.

14:00 into the 3rd period Patrick Berglund was sent to the penalty box for tripping Devin Stetoguchi.

At 15:54 into the period, 6 seconds before that power play was set to expire, the Kings got another power play as Joel Edmundson was called for interference on a late hit to Brown. The Kings failed to light the lamp on either opportunity, though.

It was a commanding game for the Kings, who coasted through a scoreless final period to jump back into the wildcard spot

Tarasenko ranks in the top 10 in the league in shots on goal, yet didn’t manage to get any pucks on net this game.

The Kings outshot the Blues 28-22. The Kings went 1-5 on their power play opportunities, while the Blues went 0-3 on the man advantage.

Next: Los Angeles Kings Midseason Hockey Report Card

The Kings continue their homestand against the Winnipeg Jets on January 14. The Blues next play the San Jose Sharks in the Bay Area on January 14.