Jonathan Quick blanks Blues as Kings’ win streak reaches 5 games

With their veterans soaring and their roster getting healthier, the Kings extended their win streak to five games with a 3-0 shutout of the St. Louis Blues on Monday night at Enterprise Center.

“We have some confidence. It feels right now like it did at the end when we ended the year last year,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said, referencing their seven-game surge before play was paused last season. “Everybody’s in sync.”

Forward Gabe Vilardi scored a goal and winger Dustin Brown scored two in his 1,200th career game for the Kings. Jonathan Quick got the nod in net, earning his second shutout and third win in his past three starts, during which he has allowed just two goals in nearly 165 minutes.

“Quick had to make some big saves there in the last 10 minutes,” Brown said. “They have a really good team over there. They know how to come back in those types of games.”

For the Blues, Jordan Binnington battled through 28 of 30 Kings shots on goal, keeping St. Louis in a goalie duel that the Kings carried through much of the first two periods.

The Kings have not trailed at any point during their five consecutive victories. Monday’s was their fourth straight win with defenseman Matt Roy back in the lineup. They welcomed back defenseman Sean Walker on Monday, winger Andreas Athanasiou on Saturday and Blaze Lizotte on Thursday.

“A lot of players who have been coming back into the lineup the last few days have really made a difference in a lot of areas on the ice; having solid players who have a little bit more experience helps,” Brown said.

The Kings opened the scoring with 2:30 left in the first period. It was a power-play goal, their sixth in the past five games and seventh special-teams goal overall during that span.

The Kings improved to 6-1-0 when scoring first.

Vilardi extended his point streak to four games, finishing an aggressive sequence in which the Kings were all over the goal crease with four shot attempts, three from in tight. Vilardi’s bid as he fell to the ice bounced off the glove of Binnington, who made a commendable last-ditch effort despite being inundated with traffic.

Binnington was sharp on the Kings’ next power play midway through the third period, negating four solid scoring chances in the first minute of the man advantage alone.

During that penalty, Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, known for his toughness, sustained a lower-body injury behind the net when his right skate got caught on the lower part of the boards. The Blues were already without defenseman Colton Parayako and winger Vladamir Tarasenko, among several other regulars.

Binnington made yet another save on forward Jeff Carter, keeping St. Louis in the game when the Kings were playing with confidence in every area of the ice.

The Kings got another late-period goal with 1:06 left in the second. Sustained pressure wore down the short-handed Blues, who had a lapse in judgment when forward Zach Sanford’s pass was sent backward in favor of a clearing attempt.

Brown pounced on the puck and weaved his way through three St. Louis defenders, powering toward the net and transitioning between his backhand and forehand for a sweep-in goal. Brown has nine points in his last eight games and has a team-best 10 goals already this season, after scoring 17 in 66 games last season.

Brown said a focus on offense – he has not been killing penalties this year and saw his PK minutes decrease last season – and getting to the area within 10 feet of the net consistently accounted for his spike in goals. He has entered the mix with the league’s top scorers save for Toronto’s Auston Matthews, who has 18 goals in as many games.

With their win Monday, the Kings moved to 5-0-2 when leading after two periods. They lost their first two games of the season to Minnesota after carrying leads after 40 minutes, but they have not retroceded a second-intermission edge since.

The Kings’ defense was particularly active Monday, closing space in the neutral zone and along the walls. An aggressive third period by the Blues weakened that structure a bit, but they recovered late in the period to slow the pace at a critical moment.

“Structurally, I think we did a lot of the things we wanted to do, and they worked out for us,” McLellan said.

The 35-year-old Quick made 15 of his 31 saves in the third period for his 54th career shutout. The Kings also largely kept St. Louis at bay 6-on-5, where they have been very dangerous this season.

“In the last five or six minutes they threw everything they had at us, that’s when your goaltender and the odd break, I think they hit a post, come into play,” McLellan said.

Brown added an empty-net goal with 63 seconds left to propel the Kings into their next meeting with St. Louis on Wednesday.

“I’ve been up against (Brown) a lot longer than I’ve been with him,” said McLellan, who previously coached two division rivals in San Jose and Edmonton. “I can tell you that the 80-some games that I’ve been here, I’ve enjoyed it a lot more on his side.”

There was no denying @JonathanQuick32 tonight! He collects the @pepsi shutout for the @LAKings. pic.twitter.com/UnxZja4DxN

— NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2021

Dustin Brown still has the moves. pic.twitter.com/FbQPqog3Zm

— NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2021

The man of the night takes questions from the media after 5 WINS IN A ROW @LAKings | #GoKingsGo | @DustinBrown23 pic.twitter.com/vUdDUMbJGs

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) February 23, 2021

Todd McLellan is happy Dustin Brown’s on his team. pic.twitter.com/FWWeAkllEE

— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 23, 2021

HACK, WHACK, 1, 2, 3 @Gabe_Vilardi13 capitalizes on the PP and puts the @LAKings up, 1-0! #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/IA81796QGx

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) February 23, 2021

It was SO GOOD to see this guy back out on the ice tonight! Sean Walker stopped by to catch up with @JimFox19 following tonight’s W #GoKingsGo | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/tPM8AGUDl9

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) February 23, 2021

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