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Health & Fitness

Blues Stun Kings Twice to Take First 2 Games Of Series

The Blues take the first 2 games of the NHL quarterfinals round of the playoffs against the defending Stanley Cup champions in exciting fashion.

The first two games of the NHL quarterfinal playoffs between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings, have supplied enough excitement, energy and suprises to make up for the entire 34 regular season games that were missed due to the NHL lockout. One of the most anticipated series of this year's playoffs, has proven to be a defensive, and physical affair that has left Blues' fans ecstatic, and the Kings' fans baffled.

Game 1

The St. Louis Blues opened up game 1 against the Stanley Cup champion Kings with one of the most fast paced and momentum filled periods of the season. The Blues opened the series up with 14 shots on Jonathan Quick in the first period alone, netting a powerplay goal from Alex Steen at the 9:05 mark. The pressure continued on in the following 2 periods, but a mixture of missed shots, and timely saves from Quick kept the game at 1-0 after 2 periods. 

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The Blues' momentum would continue in to the 3rd period until they received a reality check from Kings' winger Justin Williams who scored the tieing goal with just 31.6 seconds remaining. It seemed that all of the work and momentum the Blues had in the first 3 periods, was quickly pulled out from under them with the Williams goal. Game 1 entered overtime with the momentum on Los Angeles's side.

Overtime was back and forth, with both teams playing fairly conservative, until the Blues' Kevin Shattenkirk got called for a 4-minute double minor high sticking penalty. For the Kings to score, it seemed inevitable, and the nerves of the Blues' fans hit an all-time high. Then something happened. The puck was cleared and Kings' goalie Quick nonchalantly went back to play it behind the net.Blues' winger Alexander Steen who had just made a change and gotten on the ice was all over him. Within seconds Jonathan Quick mishandled the puck, and Steen had taken it and netted the game winning goal to the roar of the St. Louis crowd. It was not only a suprise goal to end the game, but a possible series deflating moment for Los Angeles. 

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Game 2

The air that had been taken out of the Kings' sails in game 1, had seemed to be restored with the opening of game 2. The Kings came out with the momentum this time, and they jumped ahead of the Blues with a powerplay goal from Dustin Brown at 9:55 of the first period. After that, the game turned in to the Quick versus Elliot show. Both goaltenders exchanged phenomenol saves, and the Kings entered the third period leading the St. Louis Blues 1-0. 

The Blues skated in to the 3rd, finding it hard to break the code Jonathan Quick had on the net, until 3:44 of the period, when Blues' defenseman Alex Pietrangelo threw a puck on net and a crashing Patrik Berglund tipped the puck in to tie the game. The goal restored the energy back in to the Scottrade Center, as the Blues had fought back and evened the game. The action between the two teams shuffled back and forth, and another overtime game was in the making, or so it seemed. 

Just as the Kings had done in game 1 late in the third period, the Blues did just the same. As Blues forward Chris Stewart skated over the blueline in to the Los Angeles zone, he found a trailing Barrett Jackman stepping up on the play. Stewart made a quick pass to Jackman, and Jackman released a wrist-shot passed Quick with only 51 seconds left in the game to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. The Blues would fight off the Kings' final rush with a pulled goalie to secure the win and take a 2-0 lead in the quarterfinals series. It was yet another deflating loss for the Los Angeles Kings.

The series now shifts to Los Angeles Saturday night for game 3, and the Blues have an impressive record of 10-0 in playoff games after taking a 2-0 lead. The Kings are looking to bounce back against the Blues, and get their first win of the playoffs, which would make for an interesting game 4 in Los Angeles.

The puck drops for game 3 at 9PM CST, and the intensity and energy is expected to be just as high in Los Angeles as it was in St. Louis. The game can be seen locally in St. Louis on Fox Sports Midwest and nationally on the NBC Sports Network.  

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