St. Louis, MO (Best E Casino) - David Backes and Martin Rucinsky had a goal and an assist each to guide the
St. Louis Blues past the road-weary
Los Angeles Kings, 4-2, at Scottrade Center.
Andy McDonald and Jay McKee also scored while Manny Legace made 25 stops for the Blues, who had dropped four straight and 11 of 13 coming in.
Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov lit the lamp for Los Angeles, which finished its eight-game road swing with a respectable 4-3-1 record. Jason LaBarbera made 30 saves in defeat.
St. Louis trailed 2-1 midway through the contest, but responded with three straight goals to claim command.
Rucinsky struck at the 9:01 mark of the second with a rebound putback to tie the game at 2-2, and McKee supplied the go-ahead goal 8:29 into the third. McKee's first offering from the slot was turned away by LaBarbera but the rebound came right back to him, and he was able to slide it into the back of the cage to put his team in front.
Backes supplied some breathing room with 6:35 remaining. With a player from each team lodged inside the net following a collision, Backes gained control of the puck amidst a scrum and whacked a shot through the traffic and in. Legace kept the Kings off the board the rest of the way to seal the win.
The Kings opened the scoring at the 13:19 mark of the first with an even- strength goal by Frolov, his 15th marker of the season.
McDonald evened the score just 33 ticks into the second. Barret Jackman's slap shot from the point was deflected on its way to the net and soared high into the air before McDonald got a piece of it in front, nudging it past LaBarbera.
The Kings assumed a 2-1 lead less than four minutes later when Brown received a centering feed from Matt Moulson and punched it home.
Game Notes
The Blues have won five straight meetings with the Kings...The Kings return home to face Calgary on Friday. Los Angeles will play four of its next five games at the Staples Center. ..Blues center Keith Tkachuk returned after missing a game with flu-like symptoms and donated an assist.
