They were less than half a period from a more acceptable ending to what had been a troubling trip.
More acceptable turned truly awful for the
St. Louis scored three times in that third-period stretch, twice on the power play, to blow past the Kings with a surge of offense and went on to a 5-2 victory Tuesday night. In all, the Blues scored five unanswered goals.
Marian Gaborik scored twice for the Kings — his sixth and seventh goals of the season — but they had a season-low one shot on goal in the third period.
Gifted youngster
His third goal came via an empty-netter with 1:24 remaining after the Kings pulled goaltender
Some of the fans at
They lost their hats. You might say the Kings lost their heads.
It was the first time the Kings have lost in regulation when they led after two periods this season. They usually show veteran poise and intelligence in the late stages. Even before the scrambling and the loss of discipline in the third, they started to stall offensively.
"They got one and a little momentum, then they got another one," Kings defenseman
"We just have to be better on the road in the third period."
Their lone shot on goal in the third, by
The third-period collapse started when Kings captain
St. Louis didn't need that much time to capitalize as defenseman
The Blues got another goal, still on the power play, by Tarasenko, at 13:00 and then scored 50 seconds later. That came off a three-on-two rush, finished off by
"It's one where I think we've got to chalk it up to ourselves," Kopitar said. "Going into the third period, being up 2-1, we've been known to close these games out. Especially on the road, you've got to make an extra effort to make that happen."
It was a tough blow for the Kings, who have won once in their last six games.
"The mood is definitely not great because this is a sour one for sure," Kopitar said. "We've got to put this one behind us. There's a new one on Thursday and we've got to make sure we're ready for that one."
Kings Coach
"It's not the same team. It's quite a bit different team on the back end," Sutter said. "We've said it all along. We need great goaltending."
He rejected the momentum notion after the five-on-three goal.
"I really didn't see it like that," Sutter said. "We've got to get a save in there somewhere. It's frustrating."
Twitter: @reallisa