St. Louis Blues Vs. Los Angeles Kings, NHL Playoffs 2012: Complete Series Coverage

It may have been the two seed versus the eighth seed on paper, but in reality it was going to be a dogfight between two of the NHL’s best teams. The Kings, making their third consecutive playoff experience, were prepared for that fight. The Blues, making just their second playoff appearance since the lockout, were not.

The Blues, in contrast, did it too seldom and too late. Outside of the opening period of Game 1 and the desperate final periods of Game 4 when it was win or go home, the Blues never found their game -- never imposed their game -- against a tough opponent. Worse, the elevated emotional atmosphere of the postseason got the best of them. As Hitchcock said in his post-game media conference:

The Eastern Conference may be providing the drama in the 2012 NHL playoffs, with multiple games going into overtime, but it’s the late-night, West Coast series that is showing who the new Stanley Cup favorite should be.

The Kings forecheck matches the Blues in intensity. But the Kings’ blueline puck-handlers are able to diffuse the Blues forecheck with quick, crisp outlet passes and diligent forwards who come back before building a dangerous transition. Even in the rare moments in Thursday’s Game 3 when the Blues were clicking, it was muted by a confident, quickly-responsive Kings breakout.

For more on the Kings, head to Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Blues, visit St. Louis Game Time and SB Nation St. Louis. For complete coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, stick with SB Nation’s NHL hub.

No. 2 St. Louis Blues at No. 8 Los Angeles Kings

10 p.m. ET -- Game 3, Western Conference Quarterfinals | Kings lead, 2-0

National TV: NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS

For more on the Kings, head to Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Blues, visit St. Louis Game Time and SB Nation St. Louis. For complete coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, stick with SB Nation’s NHL hub.

Yeah, not happening.

That was retweeted by @alvinlava, and the Kings responded thusly:

The teams will play Game 3 in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

For all news and information regarding the St. Louis Blues, please visit St. Louis Game Time.

Eight years later, Sutter is spear-heading what could be yet another legendary playoff run by a low-seed in the Western Conference.

“Kipper” quickly became a star in Calgary. That star would never shine brighter than it did in the 2004 playoffs.

Gaining firm control of the series, the Kings opened with a stunning 4-0 first-period on their way to a 5-2 win. This game wasn’t nearly as close as their narrow 3-1 victory in Game 1, but the two contests do share some similar traits.

Shorthanded goals in hockey, like turnovers and special-teams scores in football, completely alter the balance of the game and make a 5-on-5 evaluation tough to make. Kopitar’s goal doubled the Kings’ early lead and put the rest of Game 1 on an uneven, chippy course. The Blues reeled, checked out and conceded two more goals in the final 83 seconds of the first period, erasing any remnant of doubt.

They got a lot of those power play chances, too, thanks to the level of physical play that picked up as the game progressed. When all was said and done, the Kings went 0-for- on the power play in the game while the Blues went 0-for-9, and the teams combined for 110 penalty minutes in total.

Game 3 is set for Thursday night at Staples Center in L.A.

We have full coverage of Kings vs. Blues Game 2 in our StoryStream. Check with St. Louis Game Time for more on the Blues, and check with Jewels From The Crown for more on the Kings.

We have the technology to figure that out, but it does not work through the GIF. The GIF, as glorious as it may be, has its flaws. Yet the flaws make it an endearing medium, and for that, we love the GIF. Jonathan Quick and the Kings love this GIF in particular, we assume.

We have full coverage of Kings vs. Blues Game 2 in our StoryStream. Check with St. Louis Game Time for more on the Blues, and check with Jewels From The Crown for more on the Kings.

It was a fairly even fight, if not a win for King. The two spent most of the bout wrasslin’ around, but both guys deserve credit: Crombeen for standing up to King and King for answering the bell when challenged.

We have full coverage of Kings vs. Blues Game 2 in our StoryStream. Check with St. Louis Game Time for more on the Blues, and check with Jewels From The Crown for more on the Kings.

No. 7 Washington Capitals at No. 1 New York Rangers

7:30 p.m. ET -- Game 2, Eastern Conference Semifinals | Rangers lead, 1-0

National TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS

For complete coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, stick with SB Nation’s NHL hub. You can find team-by-team coverage from our network of hockey blogs.

Are the Los Angeles Kings for real?

It was cute for the No. 8 seed to take a series lead over the Vancouver Canucks. It happened to the Ottawa Senators too, in the East. Then they ended up not just competing against the Canucks, but comfortably winning the series, 4-1. And now, with a 3-1 victory in Game 1 over the St. Louis Blues, it looks like their giant-killing days may not be over.

If you want to win what should be a closely-fought playoff series, one effective tactic is to take out the opponent’s best defenseman with a check from behind.

So while King’s hit was by far the more destructive -- Pietrangelo didn’t even have the puck when he was launched from behind -- the lazy NHL tradition is to penalize Oshie twice as much as King, who arguably could’ve been tossed for an interference major. Fraser said he just “leaned” into Pietrangelo, and the NHL offered its own statement, hilariously parsing about when the cut on Pietrangelo’s face was observable [emphasis mine]:

The Blues will try to even the series up in Game 2 on Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET.

For more on the Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown, Battle Of California and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Blues, head over to St. Louis Game Time.

No. 8 Los Angeles Kings at No. 2 St. Louis Blues

7:30 p.m. ET -- Game 1, Western Conference Semifinals | Series tied, 0-0

National TV: NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS

For more on the Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown, Battle Of California and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Blues, head over to St. Louis Game Time.

Sure, it’s premature to say the winner of this series determines this year’s Stanley Cup victor, but it’s not entirely crazy.

OFFENSE

For more on the Blues, check in with St. Louis Game Time. For more on the Kings, check in with Jewels From The Crown and Battle of California.

The Blues are undefeated with Elliott in net through three games and most of a fourth. He is posting a 1.37 goals-against average and .949 save percentage so far this postseason. During the regular season, Elliott was first among goaltenders who have played at least 30 games with a .940 save percentage and 1.56 GAA.

For more on Halak, Elliott and the Blues, head over to the SB Nation blog St. Louis Game Time.