St. Louis Blues 1, Kings 0
Eight keys to the game:
THE FACTS: Kicking off a season-long six-game road trip, the Kings fell back into their old ways, failing to score a goal in a 1-0 loss Friday night against the Blues at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
THE STAT: The Blues came in allowing the fewest goals in the Western Conference this season and owning the most shutouts. The Kings, meanwhile, entered as the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. Some things never seem to change.
TURNING POINT: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty tried to pinch St. Louis right wing Matt D’Agostini along the boards as he entered the offensive zone but missed, allowing him to skate in on a 2-on-1. D’Agostini slid the puck over to Jamie Langenbrunner, who took a knee as he hammered the puck past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick for a 1-0 lead with 11:22 remaining in the second period.
HOT: Quick, making his 44th start of the season, couldn’t do much more to give his team a chance. He stopped 32 shots but came up one short and fell to 2-8 in his career against the Blues. Quick has seen his share of close games this season, falling to 12-6-9 in one-goal games.
NOT: The Kings did not record a shot on goal the last 13:12 of the opening period. … Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi struggled with his puck handling for the second straight game. The veteran defenseman stayed on the bench while Willie Mitchell double shifted down the stretch.
GOOD MOVE: Kings second-year winger Kyle Clifford was promoted to the second line and responded with three shots on goal in the first five minutes of the game. Kings coach Darryl Sutter continued to show confidence in Clifford’s game, even double-shifting him with the second and fourth lines in the third period.
BAD MOVE: Doughty came into the game with two points in each of his last two games, the third time in his four-year career he had strung together back-to-back multi-point games. Doughty didn’t build on the momentum, however, making a defensive miscue that allowed the game’s only goal. He didn’t manage a shot on goal against the Blues either, but did produce a team-high four blocked shots.
NOTABLE: Kings rookie Andrei Loktionov was scratched in favor of veteran Trent Hunter. … Coming into the game, the Kings had earned points in 17 of the previous 19 games. … St. Louis center Jason Arnott, who came into the game third on the team with 24 points, suffered an upper-body injury when he was bumped by Kings right wing Dustin Brown and slid awkwardly into the boards with 8:40 left in the game. … The Blues have not lost at home since Dec. 3.
UP NEXT: Saturday vs. Carolina, 4 p.m. ET.
Eight keys to the game:
THE FACTS: Kicking off a season-long six-game road trip, the Kings fell back into their old ways, failing to score a goal in a 1-0 loss Friday night against the Blues at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
THE STAT: The Blues came in allowing the fewest goals in the Western Conference this season and owning the most shutouts. The Kings, meanwhile, entered as the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. Some things never seem to change.
TURNING POINT: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty tried to pinch St. Louis right wing Matt D’Agostini along the boards as he entered the offensive zone but missed, allowing him to skate in on a 2-on-1. D’Agostini slid the puck over to Jamie Langenbrunner, who took a knee as he hammered the puck past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick for a 1-0 lead with 11:22 remaining in the second period.
HOT: Quick, making his 44th start of the season, couldn’t do much more to give his team a chance. He stopped 32 shots but came up one short and fell to 2-8 in his career against the Blues. Quick has seen his share of close games this season, falling to 12-6-9 in one-goal games.
NOT: The Kings did not record a shot on goal the last 13:12 of the opening period. … Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi struggled with his puck handling for the second straight game. The veteran defenseman stayed on the bench while Willie Mitchell double shifted down the stretch.
GOOD MOVE: Kings second-year winger Kyle Clifford was promoted to the second line and responded with three shots on goal in the first five minutes of the game. Kings coach Darryl Sutter continued to show confidence in Clifford’s game, even double-shifting him with the second and fourth lines in the third period.
BAD MOVE: Doughty came into the game with two points in each of his last two games, the third time in his four-year career he had strung together back-to-back multi-point games. Doughty didn’t build on the momentum, however, making a defensive miscue that allowed the game’s only goal. He didn’t manage a shot on goal against the Blues either, but did produce a team-high four blocked shots.
NOTABLE: Kings rookie Andrei Loktionov was scratched in favor of veteran Trent Hunter. … Coming into the game, the Kings had earned points in 17 of the previous 19 games. … St. Louis center Jason Arnott, who came into the game third on the team with 24 points, suffered an upper-body injury when he was bumped by Kings right wing Dustin Brown and slid awkwardly into the boards with 8:40 left in the game. … The Blues have not lost at home since Dec. 3.
UP NEXT: Saturday vs. Carolina, 4 p.m. ET.
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