Blues score seven against Kings, keep pace in wild-card race

LOS ANGELES -- Seven players scored for the St. Louis Blues in a 7-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Saturday.
Jaden Schwartz had a goal and two assists, and Alex Pietrangelo, Kyle Brodziak, Ivan Barbashev and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist for St. Louis (36-27-5), which is three points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

WATCH: [All Blues vs. Kings highlights]
Jake Allen made 38 saves. The Blues were shut out in three of the past four games Allen started.
"I thought I was dreaming there with all that offense," Allen said.

Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown scored for Los Angeles (37-26-5), which has lost two of its past three games and fell one point behind the Avalanche for the second wild card from the West. The Kings are one point behind the Anaheim Ducks for third place and two behind the San Jose Sharks for second in the Pacific Division.
"Our fight on the puck was not at a playoff level if you expect to win this time of year, so it's a little concerning," Kings coach John Stevens said. "We've just got to decide as a group where we're going to go from here. It's tough hockey this time of year."
Robert Bortuzzo gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 3:03 of the first period during a 4-on-4.
"It helps to get that first goal, get a big boost," Schwartz said. "We just never looked back and we stayed aggressive."
Colton Parayko made it 2-0 at 8:53. Jonathan Quick poke checked the puck away from Patrik Berglund, but Parayko gathered it in the right circle and scored into an open net.
Doughty made it 2-1 at 13:13 of the second period. Pietrangelo gave the Blues a 3-1 lead at 17:08, scoring from in close after the getting the puck off a poke check from Quick.

"When we're jumping on the back end, it pushes teams back because they know we're coming, we're an extra threat," Pietrangelo said of the Blues defensemen. "Those forwards [have] to keep an eye on us, and, a lot of times, that opens up more space for the forwards."
Barbashev scored to make it 4-1 at 19:34, splitting Doughty and Derek Forbort before scoring five-hole on Quick.
Quick, who made 25 saves, was replaced by Jack Campbell to start the third period. Campbell made 11 saves.
Tarasenko (at 26 seconds) and Brodziak (at 58 seconds) scored on the first two shots Campbell faced to give the Blues a 6-1 lead before Schwartz made it 7-1 at 12:11.
Brown scored to make it 7-2 with a power-play goal with 15 seconds left.
"I think it gave us a good boost," Allen said. "You could tell in the third period. It was impressive. It was impressive to watch against a really good team who's playing really well. From the start of the game to the end, it was a job well done."

Goal of the game

Pietrangelo's goal at 17:08 of the second period.

Save of the game

Allen's save on Anze Kopitar at 16:46 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Barbashev's goal at 19:34 of the second period.

They said it

"What you hope now is that some guys can build some confidence off of that and carry a little bit of momentum into our next one. We know our next one is going to be a real tough challenge, but it's nice with an afternoon game; we have the rest of the night to enjoy this one." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo

"You're not going to take anything positive out of that hockey game. The only thing you're going to take out of that hockey game is how tough it is this time of year. Lot of guys here know that, and there's lots of guys that've got to learn that, but as a group, we've certainly got to acknowledge it." -- Kings coach John Stevens

Need to know

The Blues, who are 2-7-2 in their past 11 games, scored more than one goal in the first period for the first time since Jan. 9. … Tarasenko has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five games. … Schwartz has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games. ... The Kings allowed the first goal for the 44th time this season. … Kopitar, who had two assists, has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past seven games.

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What's next

Blues: At the Anaheim Ducks on Monday (10 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, PRIME, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, SNP, NHL.TV)