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Ryan Johnson's late goal helps Blues snap six-game slide

Mar 5, 2008 - 5:55 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Ryan Johnson took advantage of a weird bounce and helped the St. Louis Blues get back in the win column.

Johnson snapped a tie with 6:54 remaining in the third period and the Blues also received goals from Andy McDonald and Keith Tkachuk en route to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Paul Kariya and rookie defenseman Erik Johnson each recorded an assist for St. Louis, which had gone 0-5-1 in its previous six games and is holding on to faint playoff hopes.

"It was a pretty gritty effort," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "When you limit a team to two goals, and we've done that in 11 of the last 13 games, it's amazing that our win totals have not been better than that. Tonight, we managed to score three goals."

With the win, the Blues (29-27-10) moved within six points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Tkachuk tied the game at 2-2 at 11:53 of the second period, and Ryan Johnson put the Blues ahead for good with less than seven minutes to go in the third.

Jamal Mayers sent an outlet pass to Ryan Johnson, but the puck deflected off a skate and the right wing boards. Ryan Johnson recovered it near the right faceoff circle, however, and beat rookie goaltender Erik Ersberg between the pads for a 3-2 lead.

"Once I knew I was in with a lot of speed, I was just trying to slow down," Ryan Johnson said. "I just tried to look up, take a step and make a play to the net."

"It was obviously a pretty significant goal for us," Murray said. "He has sacrificed a lot of body parts with blocked shots. ... He has a defensive focus. His speed is the best part of his game."

Manny Legace stopped 30 shots for the Blues, who successfully killed a 5-on-3 power play in the final minutes.

"You knew it was going to be a tight game, and it was," Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford said. "Our guys battled hard tonight, and they had six good chances in the third period, but unfortunately, we couldn't solve their goalie."

Dustin Brown gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with his 29th goal of the season at 4:32 of the second, when he completed a rush with a wrist shot that beat Legace high to the short side.

"I had the puck," Legace said. "It hit me right in the pants. But I'm glad we finally got a win."

Tkachuk tied it at 1-1 his 21st goal of the campaign with 8:07 left in the period.

McDonald opened the scoring 1:40 into the first, but Alexander Frolov knotted the game with his 20th tally with 48 seconds left in the period.

Ersberg stopped 29 shots for the Kings, who have lost five straight (0-3-2).