Kings edge Blues for sixth consecutive win

[February 25, 2021]  Alex Iafallo and Andreas Athanasiou scored to lead the visiting Los Angeles Kings past the St. Louis Blues 2-1 Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

Calvin Petersen, who made 35 saves for the Kings, has allowed just five goals in his past three starts -- all wins.

Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 18 saves.

The injury-depleted Blues lost their third in a row and fell to 3-6-1 in their past 10 games. They are missing forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Bozak, Robert Thomas, Ivan Barbashev and Jaden Schwartz.

On defense, Colton Parayko is sidelined due to a back ailment, Carl Gunnarsson sustained a season-ending knee injury Monday, and Marco Scandella exited the Wednesday game in the third period after being hit in the face by a puck.

The Blues held the Kings without a shot for the first 7 1/2 minutes of the game, and they finished the scoreless period with an 11-5 edge in shots.

The offensive pace picked up midway through the period. Blues forward Zach Sanford ripped a shot off Petersen's shoulder from the right circle, then Mackenzie MacEachern hit the right post from a similar spot moments later.

The best Kings scoring chance in the period came when Iafallo raced up the right wing on a two-on-one break. He faked to the middle on his forehand, then went to the short side with his backhand -- but Binnington just got his glove on it.

St. Louis Blues left wing Kyle Clifford (13) checks Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings took a 1-0 lead 10:24 into the second period on a three-on-two rush. Brown shot from the right wing, and Iafallo drove down the middle to punch in the rebound. The tally was credited to Brown before an official scoring change.

Blues forward Jordan Kyrou bid for a game-tying score with a one-time blast from the left circle, but Petersen slid to his right to make the save.

Athanasiou made it 2-0 by taking a drop pass from Austin Wagner on the right circle and beating Binnington to the glove side with 3:52 left in the second period.

With Binnington pulled for an extra attacker, the Blues finally broke through with Sundqvist's goal with 1:46 to play. Ryan O'Reilly faked a shot to freeze Petersen and fed Sundqvist in the slot.

--Field Level Media
 

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