The Western Conference Quarterfinal between the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues has been one of the most enjoyable series to watch thus far.
Blues vs. Kings: Los Angeles pursues series split on Monday
The Los Angeles Kings will host the St. Louis Blues in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal on Monday night. St. Louis can take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
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With each contest being decided by a single tally, Los Angeles will attempt to even the series at two games apiece when the clubs reconvene for Game 4 on Monday night.
Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick made up for any wrong-doings with an impressive 30-save shutout in Game 3. Of course, defense and goaltending have been at a premium in this series as each game has had no more than three combined goals scored.
St. Louis has a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back home for Game 5. In order to do so, they will need to solve Quick.
1. Will Game 4 take on the same attitude as the three previous games?
Hard hitting, low goal scoring. That’s been the template in the first three games of this series. The two clubs have combined for a total of seven goals and 247 hits entering Monday night. Will Game 4 take on this same characteristic?
2. Will the contest be decided by a single goal?
With the exception of Game 3, the first two games were decided in dramatic fashion. Despite Slava Voynov’s Game 3 winner coming in the second period, it still resulted in a single goal deciding the contest. Will that be true on Monday night? Or will the teams break out of their defensive shells for some goal-scoring?
3. Will the Kings’ face-off percentage improve?
Game 3 marked the highest success rate in the face-off circle for the Kings (49 percent). However, the Blues won a large majority of draws in Game 1 (64 percent) and Game 2 (55 percent). Will the Kings build on their improvement in Game 3? Will it have any outcome on the final result of the contest?
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