The fifth-seeded Los Angeles Kings attempt to break serve Wednesday, when they visit the fourth-seeded St. Louis Blues for a pivotal Game 5 in their Western Conference first-round series. St. Louis entered with home-ice advantage and maintained it by posting a pair of 2-1 victories at Scottrade Center, including one in overtime. The reigning Stanley Cup champion Kings continued the trend with two one-goal triumphs at Staples Center.
Los Angeles, which totaled three goals over the first three games, finally broke out of its offensive funk in Game 4 with a 4-3 win. After falling behind by two goals less than five minutes into the contest, the Kings forged a tie before T.J. Oshie scored his second of the game early in the second period to give the Blues a 3-2 advantage. But Anze Kopitar ended his 19-game drought at 7:14 of the third and Justin Williams tallied 76 seconds later to turn it into a best-of-three series.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE KINGS: Wednesday would be a perfect time for Los Angeles to end its winless streak on the road. The Kings have not been victorious away from home since posting a 3-2 triumph over Dallas on March 31, going 0-4-2 over their last six regular-season road games before dropping the first two contests in St. Louis. Conversely, Los Angeles has won nine consecutive home games and had not allowed a first-period goal during that streak before yielding two on Monday. Left wing Kyle Clifford promised the Kings will be ready from the start in Game 5. "They're going to come out hard. We're going to come out even harder," he said.
ABOUT THE BLUES: Right wing Adam Cracknell was the odd man out Monday as coach Ken Hitchcock scratched the member of the popular "CPR Line" in favor of rookie Vladimir Tarasenko, who made his postseason debut. The 21-year-old Tarasenko saw only 5:51 of ice time and did not record a shot on goal. Hitchcock very simply summed up the third period of Game 4. "They took the game to another level and we didn't have an answer," he said. While the Kings have struggled mightily on the road, the Blues have been superb at home, winning their last eight contests at Scottrade Center. St. Louis has not lost in its own building since April 14 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
OVERTIME
1. The Blues and Kings combined for seven goals in Game 4 after totaling that same amount over the first three contests.
2. Los Angeles had 11 different players record at least one point Monday.
3. St. Louis G Brian Elliott had allowed just one goal in six straight starts prior to Game 4.
PREDICTION: Kings 3, Blues 2