|
 "There was no question that we felt we could come back," Gaborik
said. "We know we believe. We were never quitting, and we were
confident we could come back."
The Kings wiped out the early deficit, defenseman Jake Muzzin scored
the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Los Angeles defeated the
St. Louis Blues 6-4 in a wild affair at Staples Center.
"Just for us to come back was a mild miracle," Kings coach Darryl
Sutter said.
Gaborik scored two goals and recorded an assist. Kings forward Anze
Kopitar had a goal and a career-high-tying four assists, and center
Jeff Carter added a goal and three assists. The Kings matched their
season high by scoring three times on the power play.
"We were careless at times, and that's a big part of it," St. Louis
coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We did a really poor job of managing the
puck as the game went on, so we turned it into a track meet."
 It wasn't the first time Los Angeles sped past St. Louis in similar
fashion. The last time the Kings came back from being down three
goals was March 17, 2011, when they earned a 6-4 decision over the
Blues at Staples Center.
Muzzin's tiebreaking goal occurred after he fielded a rebound and
smoked a shot past Blues goaltender Martin Brodeur on a power play
at 8:58 of the third period.
Left winger Dwight King added a goal with 7:54 remaining. He slapped
a shot from along the boards near center ice, and the puck bounced
over Brodeur to close out the scoring.
"I knew it was going to be a bad bounce, and I wanted to cover a
little part of the net, but I didn't expect that thing to go right
over my head," said the 41-year-old Brodeur, who signed a one-year
deal with the Blues on Dec. 2. "It was almost like a lacrosse ball.
It just kind of gained speed on that second bounce. It's one of
those bounces that have never happened to me before."
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick saved 24 of the 28 shots he faced, while
Brodeur stopped 31 of 37 shots.
The Kings (16-11-6) won for only the second time in seven games.
However, they own a franchise-best six-game home winning streak
against St. Louis. The Blues (21-9-2) had their five-game winning
streak snapped.
Three first-period goals boosted St. Louis to an early advantage.
Right winger David Backes misdirected an attempt by defenseman Jay
Bouwmeester for a power-play goal with 6:48 remaining in the first
period to put the Blues up 1-0.
Right winger Dmitrij Jaskin got a stick on a shot by defenseman
Petteri Lindbohm and scored his second goal of the season for a 2-0
St. Louis lead with 5:37 left in the first.
[to top of second column] |
St. Louis made it 3-0 when defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk delivered
his fifth of the season with four minutes remaining in the period.
Shattenkirk's blast capped a run of eight consecutive goals against
the Kings dating back to Tuesday's 5-2 win by St. Louis.
Gaborik snapped the Blues' scoring string, converting his eighth
goal this season on a power play with 2:15 left in the first.
Kopitar pulled Los Angeles within one, firing a wrist shot into the
net at 6:14 of the second.
Gaborik, who has goals in three straight contests, tied the score
with his second goal of the game -- on another power play --
slapping home a rebound with 4:19 left in the second.
However, the Blues answered just 36 seconds later as center Jori
Lehtera backhanded a goal past Quick with 3:43 remaining in the
second for a 4-3 lead.
Carter, who hadn't scored a goal since Nov. 18 in a win over the
Florida Panthers, scored just 20 seconds into the third period to
knot the score at 4.
After Muzzin snapped the tie, Los Angeles left winger Dwight King
added an insurance goal with 7:54 to play.
NOTES: Kings D Robyn Regehr left the contest with an upper-body
injury and did not return. ... Blues C T.J. Oshie, who recorded nine
points in his previous eight games, returned after missing Tuesday's
contest for family reasons. ... Kings C Trevor Lewis played his
300th career game. ... C Joakim Lindstrom, D Ian Cole and LW Magnus
Paajarvi were scratches for the Blues. ... D Jamie McBain, C Andy
Andreoff and C Jordan Nolan were scratches for the Kings. ... St.
Louis visits the San Jose Sharks on Saturday in the second outing of
its three-game road swing before concluding the trip Tuesday against
the Colorado Avalanche. ... Los Angeles resumes its four-game
homestand Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.
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reserved.]
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