GAME THREAD: Blues 3, Kings 1

(Since there are still some significant — and quite random, if you look at the date of the posting — we’ll turn this into a game thread and just post all the updates here…)

END OF SECOND: Shots were 9-9 in the second period. The Blues have a 12-3-1 record this season when leading after two periods.

BLUES 3, KINGS 1: St. Louis took a two-goal lead with 1:04 remaining in the second period. Brad Boyes held on to the the puck near the right boards, fought off some tight checking from Drew Doughty and pushed the puck ahead to Alexander Steen. Steen, from the inside of the faceoff circle, beat Quick with a high wrist shot to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.

BLUES 2, KINGS 1: The Blues took the lead again with 5:44 remaining in the second period. Philip McRae turned and fired from the left side, and Kings defenseman Jack Johnson made a hit to clear the crease, but Quick couldn’t control the puck. Ryan Reaves skated in, picked up the loose rebound and tucked it into the net to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

KINGS 1, BLUES 1: Michal Handzus’ goal tied the game 5:37 into the second period. Alec Martinez’s initial shot, from just inside the blue line, was blocked, but Martinez kept the puck in the zone and shot again. The puck was deflected by St. Louis’ Erik Johnson on the way to the net, then deflected again by Handzus. Jack Johnson also got an assist on the goal, which came three seconds after the end of a power play.

END OF FIRST: The Kings were outshot 8-5 by the Blues and didn’t generate much sustained offense in the first period. The Blues’ goal is now credited to BJ Crombeen, on the deflection, with assists to Pietrangelo and Berglund.

BLUES 1, KINGS 0: The Blues opened the scoring with a goal with 8:22 remaining in the first period. Off a St. Louis offensive-zone faceoff win, Alex Pietrangelo held the puck at the right point and fired a high wrist shot, and with Quick facing traffic right in front of him, the puck got through for a 1-0 lead for the Blues.