Game 21: Kings 3, Blues 2 (FINAL)

A reminder that tonight’s game is a national broadcast on Versus. Bob and Jim will rest up for tomorrow’s game at Dallas. Today’s action will also be on 1150-AM and affiliates, and all the game updates will be here as well…

THIRD PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Bernier vs. Halak.
Kings 2, Blues 1: The Kings took advantage of another St. Louis turnover and took a 2-1 lead 4:41 into the third period. In the corner of the Blues’ zone, Andrei Loktionov helped force the puck away from Barret Jackman. Loktionov then picked it up and centered toward Mike Richards, who scored on a one-timer from the slot.
Kings 2, Blues 2: St. Louis tied the game 2-2 with 7:32 remaining in the third period. Matt D’Agostini carried the puck below the Kings’ goal line, then pushed the puck back. Vladimir Sobotka beat Drew Doughty to the front of the net and beat Bernier with a close-range one-timer. Kris Russell also got an assist.
Kings 3, Blues 2: The Kings got the lead back just 1:43 later. Simon Gagne pushed the puck to the blue line, and Willie Mitchell shot from the left point. With Justin Williams and a couple other players running traffic, the shot deflected off St. Louis’ Scott Nichol and got past Halak to give the Kings a 3-2 lead with 5:49 remaining in the third period.
End of game: The Kings handed the Blues their first regulation loss in their last seven games and outshot the Blues 28-25.

SECOND PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Bernier vs. Halak.
Kings 1, Blues 1: The Kings tied the game with a power-play goal 7:36 into the second period. Mike Richards won the puck from St. Louis’ Barret Jackman in the corner, then quickly fed a centering pass toward Anze Kopitar, who pushed it into the net from close range for his 10th goal of the season to make it a 1-1 game.
End of period: Shots were 14-11 in favor of the Blues in the second period. St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo got a penalty at the end of the period, so the teams will be 4-on-4 for the first 1:02 of the third period, followed by a 58-second Kings power play.

FIRST PERIOD
In goal: It’s the Kings’ Jonathan Bernier against the Blues’ Jaroslav Halak.
Blues 1, Kings 0: The Kings came out with some new-look line combinations, but the Blues scored 67 seconds into the game to take a 1-0 lead. They worked the puck out of the corner in the Kings’ zone and, after a quick scramble, Alexander Steen found open ice in the slot, jumped on the puck and beat Bernier with a wrist shot. T.J. Oshie got an assist.
End of period: The Kings outshot the Blues 8-7 in the period. The Kings started the period with a left-wing swap, with Ethan Moreau on the second line and Andrei Loktionov on the fourth, but went back the other way midway through the period. The Kings did stay with new defensive pairings, though, as Rob Scuderi paired with Drew Doughty, Willie Mitchell paired with Jack Johnson and Slava Voynov paired with Matt Greene. The Kings did nothing of consequence with the puck in the first 10 minutes. Their effectiveness increased in the final 10 minutes, but it didn’t result in a goal. The Blues will be on the power play for the first four seconds of the second period.