The Blues were outshot in the game 40-22 by the Kings, who are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference standings. The Blues did manage to outhit the Kings, throwing 26 hits to the Kings' 11, but the aggressive and physical play failed to make an impact on the scoreboard.
The Blues fell behind in the second period on a goal by Kings' captain Dustin Brown. Blues' rookie Vladimir Tarasenko answered with a power play goal before Jaroslav Halak allowed a soft goal to Trevor Lewis to give the Kings a 2-1 lead after two periods.
The Blues were able to tie the score on another Tarasenko goal that was set-up by great plays be defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk, who each pinched the zone to keep the puck in before getting credit for assists.
Then, controversy occured as the Kings scored to make it 3-2. Mike Richards scored with the net lifted off the ice by a Kings' player, causing Halak to move off the post, which allowed Richards to stuff the puck in the net.
The play was reviewed in Toronto and was ruled a goal, much to the dismay of Blues' head coach Ken Hitchcock.
The Kings added an empty-net goal to finish the Blues off, who are not tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Halak did let in one soft one, but overall was solid, stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced in the loss.
