Scouting the Blues

This is Game 1 in the best-of-seven, second-round playoff series between the Kings and the St. Louis Blues. In the regular season, the Kings won twice in regulation and once in a shootout while the Blues won once in regulation. A reminder the coverage of tonight’s game: Bob Miller and Jim Fox will have a postgame report on Fox Sports West, a report that might be slightly tape-delayed tonight. Jim will be joining us on the blog for a live, in-game chat. Also, Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans will be doing a special road “Kings Talk’’ call-in show live after the game on 1150-AM. As for the game, both teams will be excited to get back on the ice. The Kings haven’t played since they eliminated Vancouver last Sunday, and the Blues haven’t played since they eliminated San Jose last Saturday. Brian Elliott, who split time with Jaroslav Halak in the regular season, will get the start tonight, as Halak is unavailable for the first two games of the series due to injury. In the first round, Halak started Game 1 and the Blues lost in overtime. Halak started Game 2 but left injured, and Elliott made 17 saves to complete a shutout of San Jose. Elliott then won the next three games and allowed a total of only five goals. The big guys for St. Louis in the first round were Andy McDonald (four goals, four assists) and Patrik Berglund (three goals, four assists). For the latest on the Blues, check out the coverage from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Belleville News-Democrat, followed by the possible lineups for the Blues and the Kings

St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Blues coverage

Belleville News-Democrat’s Blues coverage

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BLUES LINEUP
David Perron-David Backes-T.J. Oshie
Andy McDonald-Patrik Berglund-Alexander Steen
Vladimir Sobotka-Jason Arnott-Chris Stewart
Jamie Langenbrunner-Scott Nichol-B.J. Crombeen

Carlo Colaiacovo-Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk
Kris Russell-Roman Polak

Brian Elliott
Jake Allen

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KINGS LINEUP
Dustin Brown-Anze Kopitar-Justin Williams
Dustin Penner-Mike Richards-Jeff Carter
Dwight King-Jarret Stoll-Trevor Lewis
Brad Richardson-Colin Fraser-Jordan Nolan

Rob Scuderi-Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell-Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez-Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick
Jonathan Bernier