Goalie Jonathan Quick made a key mistake in the Kings’ Game 2 loss to the Blues. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

At a glance, the play of Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick over the first two games of this series against the St. Louis Blues has lived up to the legacy of his Conn Smythe run.

After a 40-save performance Tuesday night’s opener, he was at it again in Game 2. He made sliding saves, kick saves, glove saves and flopped around, Hasek-style, doing everything he could to keep the Kings in it.

But for the second game in a row, it was Quick who let his mates down at the worst possible moment. And now the Kings find themselves in a 2-0 hole after a crushing 2-1 loss in Game 2.

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Jonathan Quick had a bead on the puck here, but his giveaway in overtime cost L.A. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

News, notes and observations from the April 30 NHL postseason action:

St. Louis Blues 2, Los Angeles Kings 1 (OT)

Somehow, this game was there for the Los Angeles Kings to win. Despite being outmuscled, outhustled and outscored through the first 59 minutes by the St. Louis Blues, the defending champs got a goal from Justin Williams in the final minute to tie it up, then dominated the early going in overtime. And when St. Louis defender Kevin Shattenkirk earned a double minor for high sticking Dustin Penner, it seemed like just a matter of time before L.A. would earn its ninth consecutive win against the Blues.

GAME 1: Recap | Boxscore | Highlights | Complete postseason schedule

Instead, a simple zone clear was fumbled by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick behind his net, allowing Alexander Steen an easy wraparound into the empty cage and giving the Blues a 2-1 win and 1-0 series lead.

Here are some key takeaways from the contest:

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Brian Elliott and the Blues were 0-3 against the Kings this season, but may now have an edge. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

By Allan Muir

EAST PREVIEWS: Pens-Islanders | Canadiens-Senators | Capitals-Rangers | Bruins-Leafs

WEST PREVIEWS: Hawks-Wild | Ducks-Red Wings | Canucks-Sharks | Blues-Kings

Regular-season recaps

Feb. 11: Kings 4, Blues 1

March 5: Kings 6, Blues 4

March 28: Kings 4, Blues 2

Notable injuries

Blues: D Barret Jackman (lower body, day-to-day)

Kings: D Willie Mitchell (knee, out for season)

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By Allan Muir

There’s nothing wrong with a player protecting himself. Brendan Shanahan pretty much called it an inalienable right in the video explaining defensive contact to the head that the league released just a couple of weeks back.

But, as with most things, there’s a right way to go about it and a wrong way. And dissuading an opponent by leading with your elbow, Gordie Howe-style? Yeah, that’s going to get you hauled in front of Sheriff Shanny, a man who is unlikely to accept a plea of “old-time hockey.”

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By Allan Muir

We’re not quite sure what was behind the Dodgers’ Pride Night that the Los Angeles Kings hosted on Thursday night. It’s not like the defending Cup champs needed to coat-tail off a team that just got swept by the Padres and is averaging a whopping 2.73 runs per game, but maybe the chance to work up a pregame sweat in Dodger Blue warm-ups was too great to pass on.

And hey, any chance to wheel 85-year-old legend Tommy Lasorda out in front of an adoring L.A. crowd is probably worth the effort, right?

Sort of. Lasorda, on hand for the ceremonial puck drop, has probably looked happier on his way to see the proctologist than he did as he waddled out to center ice where Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson were waiting. He chatted briefly with the Kings’ captain, dropped the biscuit, shook hands with Brown…and then turned his back and walked away, completely blowing off the Blue Jackets’ Johnson.

Now, etiquette states that the puck dropper shake the hands of both players, but maybe Lasorda was unaware of that fine hockey tradition. It’s possible, right?

Nope. The snub was intentional. “You do not talk to the opposition,” he later told a Fox Sports reporter.

What a competitor.

Johnson appeared to take it well, smiling as he skated off.

You gotta hand it to Mike Richards. Named one of the three stars in Thursday night’s win over the Avalanche, the Kings’ forward took the customary twirl then looked for someone in the stands he could gift with his game stick. He skated by a bunch of adults, including one goober wearing a crown, until he spied the perfect recipients: a mom holding her young son.

Now, the glass was too high between them for Richards to simply hand it to her, so he carefully tossed up and over the barrier. And the mom, perhaps calling back to her days in youth baseball, went for the fundamentally sound two-handed grab…which would have been a great decision if she didn’t drop her son in the process.

Now, to be fair, there probably isn’t a parent out there who hasn’t had a kid slip or wiggle out of their grasp at some point. But chances are we weren’t chasing a souvenir at the time and the moment wasn’t caught on live TV and then chucked up on YouTube for everyone to have good fun with.

The beauty here? The poster put it up in slow motion, which I’d guess is exactly how the mom is reliving her decision even as we speak.

No word on the condition of the kid, but as anyone who has ever parented a toddler can attest, kids tend to be pretty bouncy at that age. Probably nothing a kiss, a coo, a cuddle and A FREAKIN’ MIKE RICHARDS STICK! couldn’t fix.

The Big House in Ann Arbor will be hosting the 2014 Winter Classic, but Dodger Stadium may get an outdoor game of its own next year. (Harry How/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

On the morning that the NHL confirmed the details for the 2014 Winter Classic, rumors started flying about additional outdoor games…and one gained immediate traction.

Moments after NHL COO John Collins spoke at the Winter Classic presser about the possibility for additional outdoor games to be added to the schedule as soon as next season, outspoken player agent Allan Walsh tweeted that a “deal is done” for Dodger Stadium to host an event in 2014.

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Jonathan Bernier’s stock rose dramatically this season as starter Jonathan Quick struggled. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

By Allan Muir

Not much was made of Jonathan Bernier’s absence from Tuesday’s White House event.

But when the backup goaltender at the center of countless trade rumors didn’t show up at the Kings’ practice this morning — forcing goaltending coach Bill Ranford to don a pair of Jonathan Quick’s pads and step in — the rumor mill began to churn.

Was Bernier on his way out of town?

Apparently not. According to Lisa Dillman of the LA Times, Bernier is home attending to a family matter.

But it would have to be a fairly serious matter to miss out on a chance to meet the president and miss a day at the office, wouldn’t it?

UPDATE: Dillman tweeted that Bernier’s grandmother passed away. Our condolences to Bernier and his family.

He’s expected to rejoin the team this evening.

The Flyers will be happy if they get more than a ghost of Simon Gagne’s former self. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

This is how dire the situation is in Philadelphia: Simon Gagne is regarded as a viable improvement over NHL players they’re currently dressing.

Needing some help on the wings, the Flyers went the retreat-to-move-forward route on Tuesday, re-acquiring the once-useful winger from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2013 fourth-round draft pick that originally belonged to Phoenix.

Just to be clear on this (because I’m not sure Philly GM Paul Holmgren is), the Flyers did not acquire the 2008-09 Simon Gagne who scored 34 goals and 74 points in 79 games for them. They got a 32-year-old who hasn’t played anything close to a complete season since then, who looked hopelessly slow after returning from injury to skate in the Stanley Cup Final, and who has spent six of the Kings’ first 17 games in the press box because his work ethic didn’t match coach Darryl Sutter’s expectations.

That’ll fire up the fans, right?

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By Allan Muir

Joe Buck stopped by the FOX Sports Midwest broadcast booth during the second period of Monday night’s Kings-Blues tilt to chat with John Kelly and Darren Pang. Not surprisingly, the veteran football and baseball announcer was drafted into action to call a few minutes of the second period.

No problem for a guy who has called the Super Bowl and the World Series, right?

The results strayed into Bob Cole territory at times (“I don’t know the other guys!”), but you have to give a guy known for his exhaustive prep work full marks for stepping in cold with good humor.

It was hardly the train wreck it could have been, although it’s a good bet his call of the Kings’ third goal won’t make his resume tape.

“All right, so, uh here’s Carter bringing it out with Kopitar in the middle. Over to the left wing and…uh…here is a…GOAL scored by 44 (long pause) Drewiske.”

Buck may have struggled with the Kings, but he definitely knows his Blues. He’s a season ticket holder who learned the game from his father, Jack Buck, the play-by-play man for the team during its first season.