Inside the Numbers: LA Kings & St. Louis Blues 3.26.23
Tonight the LA Kings wrap up a lengthy seven-game homestand with their final regular season meeting with the St. Louis Blues. The Kings have not lost in regulation in their previous six games, going 4-0-2 during the stretch.
After trading away several high-profile players at the trade deadline, the Blues are not qualifying for the playoffs this year, giving the Kings a chance to sweep the season series after taking the first two games in October and early March.
2022-23 Series Recap
In the first meeting, which took place on Oct. 31, 2022, at the Enterprise Center, the Kings skated away with a 5-1 victory thanks to two goals from Carl Grundström and single tallies from Gabriel Vilardi, Anže Kopitar, and Arthur Kaliyev. Meanwhile, the Blues countered with a lamplighter from Alexey Toropchenko, with Jonathan Quick (27 saves) picking up the win.
During the second encounter, just a few weeks ago, on Mar. 4, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings secured a 4-2 win with the offense powered by Grundström, Adrian Kempe, Vilardi, and Kevin Fiala. Despite the loss, the Blues countered with goals from Robert Thomas and Kasperi Kapanen, while Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves in the win.
In their last ten meetings dating back to February 2021, the Kings are 7-1-2 against the Blues and are currently on a three-game win streak against the Blues.
Tonight’s game will mark the 221st matchup between the Kings and Blues in the regular season. Surprisingly, LA has a losing record against just 12 franchises, one of them being the Blues, with an 86-106-22-6 record. Additionally, the Blues lead on the scoreboard 685-633, scoring 3.11 goals-a-game while surrendering an average of 2.88.
Kings’ captain Kopitar is the current active scoring leader against the Blues franchise with 61 points in 60 games, thanks to 20 goals and 41 assists. Meanwhile, Brayden Schenn became the Blues’ active scoring leader against LA with 16 points in 21 games since David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jaden Schwartz have recently departed the club.
Historically, Marcel Dionne destroyed the Blues whenever he played against them, registering 74 points in just 41 games, with 27 goals and 47 assists to be the Kings’ all-time leader against the franchise. Surprisingly, Bernie Federko leads all St. Louis scorers against Los Angeles with 66 points in 39 games, collecting 30 goals and 36 assists.
Conversely, the Kings enjoyed playing their mid-west rivals at Great Western Forum with a 31-25-10 record in 66 games; however, St. Louis has flipped the script with a 19-16-2-4 record in 41 visits to Crypto.com Arena.
Furthermore, Dustin Brown was the last Kings player to register a hat trick against St. Louis, with three goals in a Dec. 11, 2008 contest, while former Blues’ star David Perron recently tallied three against LA on Oct. 23, 2021.
Finally, when discussing Kings’ goaltender statistics, most conversations will involve Jonathan Quick and his legendary career between the pipes. Although he is no longer with the club, he remains the best goalie against the Blues, with a 14-16-3 record in 33 games. Interestingly, Hall of Famer Jacques Plante, who spent two seasons in St. Louis, compiled a 9-1-1 record in 11 starts.