Dustin Brown (23) of the Los Angeles Kings misses on a break away chance as goaltender Brian Elliott (1) of the St Louis Blues defends in the second period of Game Six of the Western Conference quarter-finals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup play-offs at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, yesterday. The Kings defeated the Blues 2-1.
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Kings took another step in their bid for a Stanley Cup title repeat, beating the St. Louis Blues 2-1 yesterday to reach the second round of the NHL play-offs.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and Dustin Penner scored with just two-tenths of a second remaining in the second period to lift Los Angeles, who ousted St. Louis four-games-to-two in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round set.
Quick won the Conn Smythe trophy last year as the Most Valuable Player of the play-offs for guiding the Kings’ improbable run to their first Stanley Cup crown. In six games against the Blues, Quick allowed 10 goals on 177 shots.
Drew Doughty also scored for the Kings, who swept the Blues in the second round last season.
Chris Porter scored the only goal for St. Louis, who won the first two games of the series before losing four straight.
St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott gave up both Kings goals as Los Angeles became the first reigning Stanley Cup champions in three years to reach the second round.
Meanwhile, James Reimer made 43 saves as visiting Toronto stayed alive to force Game Six in its Eastern Conference first-round series with Boston.
Tyler Bozak scored a short-handed goal and Clarke MacArthur added the eventual winner 1:58 into the third period for the fifth-seeded Maple Leafs, who cut their series deficit to 3-2 and will host Boston today.
Reimer stopped 35 of 36 shots over the final two periods to preserve the victory. Captain Zdeno Chara scored his first goal of the postseason for the fourth-seeded Bruins, who fell to 9-9 all-time in Game Five elimination opportunities. Tuukka Rask finished with 31 saves.
In another game, Mike Ribeiro scored 9:24 into overtime as Washington won its fifth consecutive home postseason contest.
Karl Alzner’s blast from the point caromed off the skate of Troy Brouwer and right to Ribeiro, who made no mistake from the doorstep to whip the Verizon Center into a frenzy.
REUTERS
