Jonathan Quick earned his 54th career shutout — and his second in three games — as the visiting Los Angeles Kings defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-0 Monday night.
Quick made 31 saves as the Kings won their fifth consecutive game.
Dustin Brown scored twice for the Kings, giving him seven goals in his last eight games. Gabriel Vilardi also scored.
Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for the Blues.
Related: If you’re a fan of the Blues, check out #STLBlues rumors, rankings, and news here.
Blues Carl Gunnarsson suffered a right leg injury during the second period. The team was already missing defenseman Colton Parayko (undisclosed) and forwards Robert Thomas (thumb), Tyler Bozak (upper body), Jaden Schwartz (lower body), Ivan Barbashev (lower body) and Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder) to injuries.
The Kings outshot the Blues 12-7 in the first period and took a 1-0 lead.
Anze Kopitar had the first good scoring chance for the Kings with 5:29 left in the first. After shoveling the puck toward the goal, he pounced on the long rebound into the slot.
Binnington gloved Kopitar’s wrist shot to keep the game scoreless.
Andreas Athanasiou drew a tripping penalty on Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo with a burst up the right wing. The Kings converted the ensuing power play with Vilardi swatting home a rebound during a goal-mouth scramble with 2:30 left in the period.
Blues defenseman Justin Faulk nearly tied the game before the break, but he fired the puck off Quick’s mask while moving in though the right circle.
Quick made a right pad save on Oskar Sundqvist early in the second period to maintain the 1-0 lead. Quick also made a shoulder save on Mike Hoffman’s power-play blast from the right circle, then stopped Mackenzie MacEachern from the slot.
Related: If you’re a fan of the Kings, check out #LAKings rumors, rankings, and news here.
The Kings upped their pressure on the Blues late in the second period and Brown finally cashed in with 66 seconds left. He came out of the left corner unchecked, crossed the top of the crease and banked a goal off the skate of Blues defenseman Torey Krug.
The Blues tried to stage a furious late rally, but Zach Sanford rang a shot off the left post and Quick made several outstanding saves.
Brown’s empty-net goal with 1:03 left iced the game.
–Field Level Media