Los Angeles Kings eye sixth straight win as St. Louis Blues visit – NHL Preview
St. Louis Blues have already qualified for the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs, and a defeat will certainly bring no harm to them at the moment.
However, a defeat for Los Angeles Kings could end their playoff hopes as they are in a very delicate situation in the presence of a couple of competitive teams that are also desperate to reach the playoffs.
Blues and Kings are going to face each other on Thursday, March 22, 2012, at STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California.
Let’s have a look at both teams.
Blues
Blues are the only ones from the Western Conference to have a guaranteed berth in the playoffs.
They are leading the conference with 100 points after 74 games.
Blues have remained on and off lately and lost three of their last four games. Their recent defeat came against Anaheim Ducks.
Blues got two goals in the first period while giving away one. However, Ducks levelled the score in the second and added two more goals in the final period while conceding one goal and got the victory.
Blues’ coach, Ken Hitchcock, said after the game:
"It's the same stuff we've been doing before. We are soft in our own zone. Soft coverage, soft with the puck, coming back to haunt us. We've been doing this for a little while, and we are paying the price now. It's easy when the puck is in the offensive
end like it was in the first period, but when it was in our end a little bit more, we didn't compete hard enough."
Kings
Kings are ranked at eighth spot in the Western Conference with 84 points after 73 games.
They are presently on a five-game winning streak with the victories coming against Chicago Blackhawks (3-2 after shootout) Detroit Red Wings (5-2), Anaheim Ducks (4-2), Nashville Predators (4-2) and San Jose Sharks (5-2).
Against Sharks, Kings scored a goal in the first period while giving away one, but they accelerated in the second period and scored a goal. They added three more goals in the final period and gave only one goal to win the game.
Kings’ centre, Anze Kopitar, said after the game:
"It's nice to see us in the playoff picture, but we know there's still a lot of work to be done. We're definitely showing signs.”
Predictions
Kings have an edge.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might be six or more.
If Blues win, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
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