Kings win series opener at St. Louis, 3-1
ST. LOUIS -- And the defense led the way ... at both ends.
Defensemen Slava Voynov and Matt Greene scored their first career playoff goals to lead the Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Blues on Saturday night at Scottrade Center in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series.
Greene’s goal, a shorthanded effort, put the Kings ahead for good, 2-1, with 1:03 remaining in the second period. The Kings didn’t ice the victory until an empty-net goal by Dustin Penner with 14.2 seconds left.
Penner was responsible for setting up Voynov’s goal at 16:58 of the first period, tying the game at 1-1.
Goaltender Jonathan Quick, again, kept the Kings in it, facing an early barrage from the Blues, who dominated the first period. Quick faced 29 shots in the game.
[Update, 8:36 p.m.: David Backes, and not David Perron, opened the scoring on a deflection of a shot by Alex Pietrangelo in the first period for the Blues, who got 26 saves from goalie Brian Elliott.]
The victory gives the Kings a 4-0 road record in these playoffs. Game 2 is Monday night in St. Louis.
This was the first time the Kings have won a game against the Blues in the playoffs. In their two previous postseason meetings, the Blues swept the Kings, in 1969 and 1998.
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