LOS ANGELES, CALIF.— The Los Angeles Kings win game four and knot the series at 2-2. The Kings knew they had to beat the St. Louis Blues or things would not look good heading to St. Louis down 3-1.
In the first three games of the series the two teams combined for seven goals, both teams combined for seven tonight. It was a hard hitting physical game as the two had 89 hits together.
The Blues took a commanding lead in the first period going up 2-0 in the first five minutes of the game. David Backes scored on a Jay Bouwmeester assist, who tallied his first career playoff point, just 1:12 into the game. T.J. Oshie took advantage of a Colin Fraser hi-sticking penalty and put the Blues up 2-0.
The Kings regrouped and responded before the first was over. Blues forward Alex Steen and Kings defenseman Drew Doughty both took matching minors that led to four-on-four hockey. The Kings took advantage of the open ice when Jeff Carter took a pass from long time teammate Mike Richards on the two-on-one and buried it. A bad pinch from Jordan Leopold resulted in a three-on-one and Dustin Penner scored to tie the game at two.
In the second period it looked as if Oshie was hurt by a shot and was skating a little gingerly. The Blues had iced the puck and Oshie was unable to come off so coach Ken Hitchcock called a timeout. It paid huge dividends as Oshie won the draw and he scored his second goal of the night.
Brian Elliot was the story of the second period. After only facing six shots in the first, Elliot turned away all 13 shots from the Kings in the second. He preserved the Blues lead with his celestial effort on the penalty kill, with his team fatigued he stopped all four shots.
Los Angeles would tie the game 7:14 into the third when Dustin Brown fed Anze Kopitar in front of the net and he just tipped it in. The Kings did not wait long to score again, Richards shot the puck from the end boards and another former Philadelphia Flyer Justin Williams. The goal came just 1:16 after Kopitar scored and it would prove to be the game winner.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night at 9:00 EST.
John Machurek is an Assistant Editor and the Senior NHL Writer for The Inscriber Digital Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @JohnnyMacNHL and e-mail him at [email protected].
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