Kings at Blues
One night after having their winning streak halted, the Los Angeles Kings attempt to stop the Blues' three-game run when the clubs face off in St. Louis on Tuesday. Los Angeles was 20 minutes away from its eighth consecutive victory Monday but allowed three third-period goals in Chicago and dropped a 4-2 decision to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.
The loss was the Kings' first since they were shut out 3-0 by Vancouver on Oct. 13. In addition to a lack of rest, Los Angeles will have to contend with young star Vladimir Tarasenko, who is expected to return to St. Louis' lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury. The Blues are coming off their third straight win, a 3-2 overtime triumph over Minnesota on Saturday that improved them to 3-0-1 on their five-game homestand. Los Angeles won two of its three meetings with the Blues last season, with its loss coming in St. Louis.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE KINGS (7-4-0): Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter likely are looking forward to facing the Blues after their performances in the 2014-15 season series. Gaborik recorded four goals and an assist while playing in only two of the contests, Kopitar notched a tally and five assists, and Carter scored one goal and set up four others. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was in the lineup against Chicago after leaving Saturday's overtime win over Nashville with an upper-body injury but finished with a minus-3 rating.
ABOUT THE BLUES (8-2-1): Tarasenko, who leads St. Louis in goals (six) and points (10), participated in Monday's practice and was declared fit to return to the lineup by coach Ken Hitchcock. The 23-year-old Russian hopes to continue his recent success against Los Angeles after notching three goals and two assists in their final two contests last season. Jake Allen was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week after going 3-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.98 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage.
OVERTIME
1. The Kings took it to Chicago physically on Monday, outhitting the Blackhawks 49-19.
2. Allen is expected to be in net for the Blues while Jhonas Enroth likely will make his second start of the season for the Kings.
3. Los Angeles LW Milan Lucic was kept off the scoresheet Monday, ending his five-game point streak, while Kopitar pulled even with Charlie Simmer for seventh place on the franchise list with his 222nd goal.