Column: Kings beat Blues, 3-0, after Anze Kopitar leaves because of blow to the face

The Kings had every excuse to fold Tuesday, playing the second game in two nights on the road, facing the big, physical St. Louis Blues, and playing most of the game without one of their acknowledged leaders, Anze Kopitar.

Instead they stood together and created one of their finest moments in a long time, uniting for a 3-0 victory over the Blues despite losing Kopitar after he absorbed a blow to the face from the elbow or stick of St. Louis forward Ryan Reaves about 12 minutes into the first period.

Coach Darryl Sutter said he spoke to Kopitar afterward and said the Slovenian center was feeling better, “so that’s good.”

The news was as good as the effort Kopitar’s teammates exerted at the Scottrade Center, a thoroughy impressive rebound after their third-period letup Monday in a 4-2 loss at Chicago.

“That was just one of the best team wins I’ve ever been a part of. Everyone played well,” defenseman Drew Doughty said after the Kings’ eighth victory in their last nine games. “It was a great feeling after the game.”

Jeff Carter scored a short-side goal against Jake Allen during a four-on-three power play at 15 minutes 52 seconds of the second period, drought-stricken left wing Tanner Pearson scored at 15:27 of the third period off a three-on-two break, and Trevor Lewis scored into an empty net to support backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth’s 24-save performance in his first shutout for the Kings.

Carter played a season-high 23:30 and Lewis hit a season high of 19:42 as Sutter tried to compensate for the absence of a player whose two-way skills are difficult to replace.

“We all know what Kopi means to us. You take someone like that out of the lineup, it’s a big hole,” said Carter, who played 8:43 in the third period. “I thought collectively as a group we had wingers playing center and pretty much every shift it was a different line combo. Everybody really stepped up and took charge and a lot of young guys really stepped up too.

“You don’t want to lose Kopi but it was a good opportunity for those guys to really be in a tough game like that. It was a battle there tonight and I thought they did a really good job.”

Kopitar, who has led the Kings in assists and points each of the last eight seasons, checked his mouth for damage after the unpenalized hit and appeared stunned but played several more shifts in the first period. He stayed in the locker room the rest of the game and followed the NHL’s concussion protocol, which includes sitting in a quiet room for observation of possible concussion symptoms.

“You’re never going to replace a guy like Kopitar for the game but the next guy has to step up and make sure that they’re filling roles, and guys that maybe aren’t going to play as much have to step up and play those minutes,” said defenseman Jamie McBain, who missed Monday’s game to be in Los Angeles with his wife, Liz, for the birth of their son, but rejoined the team Tuesday.

“I think we were able to do that tonight with everyone, some line shuffling and guys stepping up and getting the job done.”

Enroth, signed in July as a free agent to back up workhorse Jonathan Quick, marveled at his teammates’ response to adversity Tuesday.

“I think the whole team played very hard the whole game, especially after Kopi went down,” Enroth said after his sixth NHL shutout. “It felt like Carter was out there the whole third period. It was definitely a team effort.”

Doughty returned the compliment to Enroth, who had started only one other game this season, a 4-1 victory at San Jose on Oct. 22.

“He’s a good goalie. It’s just tough to get more starts when you play behind Quickie,” Doughty said. “He makes us work in practice and he’s tough to score on. ... We know we can count on him when his name gets called.”

And the Kings know they can count on one another to be at their best in the worst of circumstances.

“Kopi’s obviously a huge part of our team and I think we all found a way to dig deep,” right wing Tyler Toffoli said. “That was a huge two points for us and we needed it.”

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen