Blues 1, Kings 0
Jaroslav Halak turned aside all 22 shots he faced for his fourth shutout in seven games and veteran Jamie Langenbrunner scored midway into the second period as the St. Louis Blues continued their dominance at home with a 1-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.
St. Louis, which improved to 22-3-4 at the Scottrade Center this season, moved past the idle Nashville Predators and into second place in the Central Division. The Blues sit four points behind the front-running Detroit Red Wings.
Halak preserved his fifth shutout of the season and 21st of his career by stopping Justin Williams on the doorstep with just under five minutes remaining in the third period. With the victory, Halak improved to 6-2-0 in his career versus the Kings.
After a scoreless first period, the Blues finally broke at 8:58 of the second.
Matt D'Agostini overcame a hip check by Kings defenseman Drew Doughty to ignite a 2-on-1 rush. D'Agostini then fed Langenbrunner, who one-timed the puck past All-Star Jonathan Quick for his fourth goal of the season and first since Jan. 3.
Quick finished with 32 saves for Los Angeles, which fell for the eighth time in 10 meetings with St. Louis.