Blues at Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have won seven of their last 10 to remain in the mix with their California rivals in the congested Pacific Division. The Kings look to continue their ascent while handing the slumping St. Louis Blues yet another setback on Saturday when the Western Conference foes meet at Staples Center.
St. Louis sat six points ahead of Los Angeles on Feb. 11 before its offense went limp during a disastrous 1-7-2 stretch, with the team mustering two goals or fewer on eight occasions. "It's just tough to get wins right now," said Jake Allen, who made 34 saves in Thursday's 2-0 setback to San Jose. "We have our backs to the wall. We're not getting chances like we used to. We have to step it up or it's going to be tough." That could be a tall order against the Kings, who have won four of six overall and seen Jonathan Quick permit two goals or fewer in six of his last eight contests. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner traditionally hasn't been as fortunate against the Blues, as he surrendered three goals in a 4-2 setback at St. Louis on Oct. 30 en route to falling to 8-11-3 in his career versus the club.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE BLUES (35-27-5): Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz each had a goal and an assist in the first meeting with Los Angeles, with the former recording 14 points in 16 career outings versus the Kings while the latter has six in his last six. The duo failed to dent the scoresheet in St. Louis' 4-1 setback to Los Angeles on Dec. 1, with that being the theme for Tarasenko in four of his last six games overall. The 26-year-old Russian has a club-best 26 goals and his 56 points are one shy of Brayden Schenn, who has just two assists in his last seven contests.
ABOUT THE KINGS (37-25-5): Jeff Carter scored and set up a goal in Thursday's 3-1 win over Washington to boost his point total to five (four goals, one assist) in the past six outings since missing 55 games due to an ankle injury. Fellow forward Trevor Lewis returned from a 12-game absence due to an upper-body injury to score versus the Capitals, extending his career-high total in goals (14) while matching his personal best in points (25). "Having (forward Trevor Lewis) back was a guy we really missed, and getting some games under (Jeff Carter's) belt has been really important for us too," coach John Stevens said.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis' 29th-ranked power play is mired in a 1-for-21 stretch on the power play in the last six games.
2. Kings LW Tanner Pearson, who is riding a three-game point streak, collected one goal and two assists in two meetings with the Blues this season.
3. St. Louis is just 17-18-4 versus Western Conference foes, as opposed to 18-9-1 against foes from the East.