ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Chris Mason kept the Los Angeles Kings off the
scoreboard early, and the St. Louis Blues' kid line produced
late. The combination kept the Blues' playoff drive alive.
Rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period to end a
10-game goal drought and Mason made 22 saves for his fifth
shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles
Kings on Tuesday night.
"We could have played a lot better in the first 40 minutes, but
we finally scored," Berglund said. "And Mason played
unbelievable."
David Perron assisted on both goals for the Blues, four games
above .500 for the first time while attempting to end the
franchise's three-year playoff drought. St. Louis has 77 points,
one point behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final spot in the
Western Conference, with nine games to go.
"It's the desperation, it's the urgency, it's the no quit in
this team," Mason said. "In the third period, we just turned it
on."
The fading Kings are in a 1-5-1 slump and are 2-9-1 in their
past dozen games on the road. They walloped the Blues three
straight times earlier in the season, but this was the first
meeting since Dec. 11.
Coach Andy Murray said that was a much different team then,
adjusting to top forward Andy McDonald's broken ankle and the
loss of other frontliners.
"We stuck with it, we maintained our composure," Murray said.
"It was a kind of game where earlier in the year, we don't
possibly handle as well."
Berglund, limited to two assists the previous 10 games, got the
first two-goal game of his career. The biggest came on a tap-in
at 7:56 of the third when Perron's drive from the left side
missed everything and rebounded right to his stick. He twice
swatted a puck loose in the crease after T.J. Oshie's shot
trickled through Jonathan Quick, converting on the second
attempt for his 19th of the season at 13:13.
Quick said the shot also deflected off a player in front of the
net.
"I believe it hit a chest, arm, something up there," Quick said.
"I just lost the puck in the jersey and it must have fallen
behind me."
Despite scoring once in the previous 22 games, the 20-year-old
Berglund leads the Blues with a plus-minus of plus-17. His
linemates are Perron (20) and Oshie (22), all first-rounders.
"Yes, it was a long time," Berglund said. "So it was really
nice."
Mason, who made his 24th straight start, was at his best in the
first period when the Kings had an 11-4 shots advantage. Seven
of Los Angeles' shots in that period came on consecutive power
plays.
"A lot of blocked shots," coach Terry Murray said. "That's one
thing they do well, they block well and they get in the lanes.
We were doing the same, we did a real good job until the end."