Another game, another battle between Jonathan Quick and Brian Elliott. This time Jonathan Quick was the hero as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the St. Louis Blues in Game 3 Saturday night to cut the Blues' lead in the series to 2-1. Quick defeated the Blues on 30 saves as the Blues had so many chances, but just couldn't find a way to put the puck in the net as it was a night full of missed opportunities.
This was the third time in the series that the outcome of the game was a one goal deficit as the Blues defeated the Kings twice back in St. Louis, 2-1. The only goal of the game tonight came from Slava Voynov with 15:03 left to go in the second period as Brian Elliott was also outstanding, stopping 21 shots.
At times Quick had made some outstanding saves, but more notably the Blues kept missing on some wide open shots that didn't make their way into the net and it's just frustrating that that the Blues couldn't come up with a win here tonight, in a game which they had so many chances and actually dominated the whole game.
The Blues' power play continues to be a concern as it is in a 0 for 12 slump and it is looking for answers. As the Blues look for answers, after the game Hitchcock walked passed Vladimir Tarasenko and said "Get ready to play," tweet according to Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford).
As frustrating as this game seemed for the Blues, there is still no time to panic as they have a perfect opportunity to win Game 4 in Los Angeles and take a 3-1 series lead over the Kings. This series is a long way from over with the great goal-tending battles between Jonathan Quick and Brian Elliott.
A pivotal Game 4 lies ahead Monday night at 9 CT. The game can be seen on FS Midwest or NBC Sports Network. The Kings look to even the series, meanwhile the Blues look to take a 3-1 series lead heading back to St. Louis for Game 5.