Jaroslav Halak out for 2nd round

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ST. LOUIS -- If the St. Louis Blues are going to rally back in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Kings, they'll have to do it without goalie Jaroslav Halak. He's been out since early in the first round with a suspected ankle injury and Blues coach Ken Hitchcock ruled him out for the remainder of the second round following St. Louis' 5-2 Game 2 loss to Los Angeles on Monday night.

"He won't play in the series," Hitchcock said.

Halak began the postseason as the Blues starting goalie after finishing the regular season 26-12-7 with a 1.97 goals-against and .926 save percentage. He played in two postseason games against the Sharks going 1-1 with a 1.72 goals-against average.

The news is better for St. Louis defenseman Alex Pietrangelo who sat out Game 2 with a lower-body injury. Hitchcock said he's day to day and the time off before Game 3 could be enough for him to return to the lineup.

"It's a big hole. Not a lot different if they lost (Drew) Doughty," Hitchcock said. "I think with the full two days off, he's good to go. We need him back in the lineup."

The Blues trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

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Craig Custance

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• Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
• Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Wrote for The Sporting News