(Best E Casino) - The Los Angeles Kings conclude a lengthy road trip with tonight's stop at St. Louis' Scottrade Center, where the host Blues hope to turn around a recent string of misfortune.

St. Louis has played its way out of the Western Conference playoff mix with losses in 11 of its last 13 games, including the club's four most recent contests. The Blues, who have gone 2-8-3 during the rough patch, are coming off a hard-fought setback to visiting Minnesota on Sunday.

Brent Burns netted the deciding goal in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the Wild to a 2-1 victory.

Paul Kariya had the Blues' lone regulation score and Brad Boyes had the team's only tally during the shootout. Goaltender Manny Legace stopped 24-of-25 shots during the game's first 65 minutes.

St. Louis played without veteran center Keith Tkachuk, who is suffering from flu-like symptoms and is considered day-to-day. Left wing Martin Rucinsky did return to the Blues' lineup on Sunday after missing 17 straight games due to a separated shoulder, but did not register a point in the loss.

Although the Kings enter tonight's play with a league-low 51 points, the team has performed surprisingly well on its eight-game trek. Los Angeles has gone 4-2-1 so far on the swing and comes in having won three of its last four games.

In their last time out, the Kings kept up their winning ways with a 3-2 shootout decision over Columbus on Sunday. Patrick O'Sullivan wristed in the game-winner during the fourth round of the deciding phase.

Anze Kopitar scored both regulation goals for Los Angeles, while Dan Cloutier finished with 31 saves in his first start of the season. The journeyman goaltender was recalled from the minors last Thursday.

Sunday's victory improved the Kings to a respectable 12-15-2 on the road for the year. Los Angeles will play four of its next five games at the Staples Center.

St. Louis owns a 15-10-5 mark at Scottrade Center in 2007-08 but has lost five of its last six as the host. Following tonight's test, the Blues will have back-to-back road games beginning with a matchup at Colorado on Thursday.

The Blues have also won four straight meetings with the Kings, including a 5-3 triumph at the Staples Center in October. Los Angeles lost in both of its visits to St. Louis last season.

Individually, Legace boasts a 9-1 record with one tie and a 2.62 goals against average in 13 career games against Los Angeles.