Kings at Blues
THE STORY: It wasn't just that the Los Angeles Kings eliminated the heavily favored Vancouver Canucks from the Stanley Cup playoffs - it was how easy they made it look. The Kings should expect a much tougher go of it in Round 2 as they face the red-hot Blues beginning Saturday night in St. Louis. A league-leading defense earned the Blues the second seed in the Western Conference, and they continued their stingy play en route to a first-round elimination of the San Jose Sharks.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN
ABOUT THE KINGS (40-27-15): Few visiting teams had much success at Rogers Arena during the regular season, but Los Angeles found the Canucks to be rather accommodating in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings won all three games in Vancouver, capped by a 2-1 overtime victory in the series-clinching fifth game. If Los Angeles wants to carry that momentum forward, it will need to figure out how to solve a St. Louis club that posted a sensational 30-6-5 mark at home. This is the Kings' first foray into the second round since 2001.
ABOUT THE BLUES (49-22-11): Few teams in the NHL could survive an injury to an elite netminder and still persevere. But St. Louis is one of those teams - and it showed in its first-round romp over the Sharks. With Jaroslav Halak sidelined with an ankle injury, Brian Elliott stepped in - and just as he did in the regular season, the 27-year-old dominated. Elliott went 3-0-0 with a 1.37 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage against San Jose. Andy McDonald (four goals, four assists) and Patrik Berglund (three goals, four assists) led the offensive charge.
OVERTIME:
1. Los Angeles prevailed in three of four regular-season meetings; two of those games were 1-0 decisions.
2. Kings netminder Jonathan Quick, one of three nominees for the Vezina Trophy, went 4-1-0 with a 1.59 GAA and a .950 save percentage in five games against Vancouver.
3. St. Louis is playing in the second round for the first time since 2002.