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Steen's late goal sends St. Louis past Kings

Dec 17, 2010 - 8:00 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Alexander Steen scored the go-ahead goal with 2:53 left to play to help lift St. Louis over Los Angeles, 6-4, at the Scottrade Center.

Vladimir Sobotka and David Backes both tallied a goal and two assists for the Blues, who ended a two-game losing streak. Brad Winchester and Jay McClement both posted a goal and an assist in the win, while Eric Brewer added a goal.

"For our team to play back-to-back nights and put that type of performance out there to secure another win and secure another win in the conference is big for our club," St. Louis head coach Davis Payne said.

Ty Conklin turned aside 25-of-29 shots for the victors, including all 12 he faced in the final period.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown both recorded one goal and one assist for Los Angeles, which has split the first two contests of its five-game road trip. Wayne Simmonds and Ryan Smyth also tallied for the Kings, while Jonathan Quick made 25 saves in the loss.

"This is the first game in a while where we haven't played to the level that we can," Kopitar said. "We just have to get back to the basics."

Steen's game-winner came off a defensive-zone face off victory that was seamlessly transitioned into an offensive charge. McClement lost control near the left circle, but Steen was able to wrangle in the loose puck to wrist it past Quick for the 5-4 lead.

Backes then posted an empty net goal with 59 seconds left to play to seal the win. Because St. Louis was on the power play, the empty-netter was also ruled a power-play tally.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead nearly 17 minutes into the game thanks to a power play. Just one second after a 5-on-3 expired, Brown took a shot from center point and it was tipped in by Johnson.

Less than two minutes later, the game was knotted at 1-1 during a scrum in front of the net. McClement picked up a rebound and tucked the puck in on a backhand shot for St. Louis.

Los Angeles got a goal on a 5-on-3 advantage for a 2-1 lead. Drew Doughty and Kopitar moved the puck around patiently at the top of the offensive zone. Kopitar finally finished the play with a one-timer from the center point two minutes into the second.

St. Louis then had a three-goal spurt later in the second period to take a 4-2 edge.

Sobotka's third goal of the season knotted the game at two just over five minutes into the second stanza. Winchester notched a power-play goal to take the Blues' first lead of the contest and Brewer gave them a two-goal cushion with just under five minutes left to play in the period.

The Kings were able to rally for two straight scores of their own to tie the game during the final four minutes of the second frame. Simmonds started it with a wrister past Conklin and Brown knotted the game at four on his 11th goal of the season.

Game Notes St. Louis has won 11 of 16 overall in the series. The Kings have also dropped seven out of nine in the at Scottrade Center....Kopitar has six goals and two assists during a six-game points streak for the Kings...St Louis was 2-for-5 on the power play, while Los Angeles was 2-for-6...Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell left the game in the second period because of a lower-body injury and did not return...St. Louis defenseman Erik Johnson did not play because of a right knee sprain he suffered during a collision with Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk on Wednesday. He is listed day-to-day...Blues center Andy McDonald was placed on IR on Thursday because of concussion he suffered on December 4.