|
 That's why when Enroth does get to play, like he did Tuesday night
against the St. Louis Blues, he wants to make the most of those
chances.
Enroth certainly did that against the Blues, stopping all 24 St.
Louis shots in a 3-0 victory, the sixth shutout of his career. The
loss was the first for the Blues in regulation at home in six games
this season and ended their three-game winning streak.
"Obviously you want to play as many games as you can but we have a
pretty good starter here," Enroth said. "You've just got to be sharp
when you get your chance and try to steal as many points as you can.
"The whole team played very hard the whole game. I'm really here to
try to stop every puck I can."
Center Jeff Carter gave Enroth and the Kings the only goal they
would need on a power play 15:52 into the second period, banking a
shot off the shoulder of Blues' goalie Jake Allen.
The goal came just nine seconds into a four-on-three advantage for
the Kings after Blues' Troy Brouwer was called for tripping Kings'
defenseman Drew Doughty.
Enroth protected that lead until the Kings were able to add an
insurance goal from left winger Tanner Pearson with 4:33 to play in
the game. Center Trevor Lewis added an empty-net goal in the final
minute for the Kings, who bounced back after seeing their seven-game
winning streak snapped Monday night in Chicago.
Enroth was able to play the second half of the back-to-back set
after Quick was in goal in that game, only the second game Enroth
has played this season. He was in goal on Oct. 22 in a 4-1 win at
San Jose.
"I thought we had some pretty good looks and I thought he made some
pretty good saves," said Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. "You get
a couple of bounces that go in, it's a different game."
The bounces are definitely not going the Blues' way on the
power-play so far this season. Minus many of their regular
participants because of injuries the Blues were 0-of-4 with a
man-advantage, continuing their season-long struggles.
The Blues have not scored a power-play goal in 21 chances at home
this season and have converted only four of 42 chances this season.
"I've been here for 10 years and it's no secret," said center David
Backes. "It's shots, traffic, rebounds and dirty goals. I think
we're looking a little too pretty and we've got to get back to
hammering the puck, finding some rebounds and taking the goalie's
eyes away. We're not getting to that point."
[to top of second column] |
The best scoring chance for St. Louis came in the second period when
Enroth was able to stop right winger Vladimir Tarasenko on a
breakaway.
"He was unbelievable," center Tyler Toffoli said of Enroth. "He
played a great game and kept us in it. He made some huge saves at
the right time and we scored some big goals."
The win might have been costly for the Kings. Center Anze Kopitar
did not play in the final two periods after having to leave the game
with what was announced as an upper-body injury. Kopitar appeared to
take an elbow to the face from Blues' right winger Ryan Reaves and
struggled to make it to the bench.
Coach Darryl Sutter said the Kings would follow the league's
concussion protocol in dealing with Kopitar's injury.
NOTES: The Blues continue to evaluate veteran free agent RW's Martin
Havlat and Dainius Zubrus, who are attending professional tryouts. A
decision on whether or not the team will sign either or both players
is expected by Friday. ... With RW Vladimir Tarasenko returning,
Blues C Scott Gomez was a healthy scratch for Tuesday night's game.
... Kings D Jamie McBain returned to the lineup after missing Monday
night's game in Chicago to be at the birth of his son in Los
Angeles. ... The Blues will play their second set of back-to-back
games when they play in Chicago on Wednesday night, the start of a
four-game trip. Brian Elliott, who has not played since Oct. 24, is
scheduled to start in goal. ... The Blues won both of their first
back-to-back games this year, at Edmonton and Vancouver. ... The
Kings return home Thursday night to play Columbus.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
