Allen leads Blues to big win over Kings in Western wild-card showdown
LOS ANGELES - Magnus Paajarvi scored a power-play goal, Jake Allen made 38 saves and the St. Louis Blues extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
David Perron scored late in the second period and Alexander Steen added an empty-net goal with 6.5 seconds left for the Blues, who lead the Kings by five points for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Dustin Brown scored with 2:55 remaining and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots, but the Kings failed to earn a point for the first time in Quick's six starts since returning from a groin injury.
Quick made an acrobatic initial save on Perron's one-timer, but the puck trickled free underneath the goalie and Perron tapped it in for his 14th goal of the season 13:37 into the second.
Paajarvi then redirected Patrik Berglund's shot to give the Blues a 2-0 lead 1:10 into the third.
It was Paajarvi's first power-play goal since April 6, 2013, when he scored for Edmonton in a 4-1 loss to the Kings.
Brown banged in a rebound to make it 2-1 late after Allen landed face-first to stop Drew Doughty's shot. The Kings had the puck in the offensive zone for much of the closing minutes but could not come up with the tying goal.
Both teams were cautious to start, not necessarily a surprise given the high stakes. However, the tenor of the game changed in the closing 15 seconds of the first period when Quick did the splits to deny Paul Stastny's backhand, and the chances continued to pile up after the break.
Dmitrij Jaskin hit the post during a St. Louis power play, and Robert Bortuzzo put a great chance over the net with Quick out in front of his crease. The Kings' line of Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli each had promising looks during one particular blitz, with Los Angeles piling up 21 shots in the second without scoring.
Jaskin was helped to the locker room and did not return because of an upper-body injury after a frightening collision with Bortuzzo in the second. Jaskin was trying to make a play on the puck and never saw Bortuzzo in front of him, plowing into the stationary 221-pound defenseman.
NOTES: Steen picked up his 30th assist on Perron's goal, giving him at least 30 in a season for the fourth time. . Brown broke a six-game scoreless streak and now has 499 career points.