Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in Game 6, and was tremendous for the Kings. (Noah Graham/Getty Images)

By Adrian Dater 

I wasn’t the only one who asked the question after this year’s NHL trade deadline. Yeah, the St. Louis Blues did well to boost their defense with the acquisitions of veterans Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold, but what about the offense? Did the team’s management really think it had enough in that department for a long playoff run?

If it did, the front office had to be thinking differently while watching the Blues pass through the handshake line after their 2-1 loss on Friday night.

The Blues never needed as much help on their back end as they did up front, and management’s failure to realize it played a significant role in the team’s frustrating six-game, first-round exit at the hands of the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings.

After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead against a team that many (hand raised here) thought looked too hungover to repeat as champs, the Blues’ inability to generate goals (they scored a total of 10 in the six games) proved fatal, especially with Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick rounding into his Conn Smythe form after gift-wrapping two wins in St. Louis.

Some thoughts and observations from Game 6:

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The largely unheralded Slava Voynov has now notched two game-winning goals in the series. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

By Allan Muir

This was the one that got away.

Not that the St. Louis Blues really deserved to win Game 5 Wednesday night. If anything, the Los Angeles Kings played better in a contest in which they never trailed while the Blues struggled–again–to cash in on enough of their premium scoring chances to get the job done. But by coming back from a goal down not once but twice — including a last-minute game-saver by Alex Pietrangelo that sent it to overtime — it just felt like maybe this was the one that was destined to fall the way of a team that always seems to come up short this time of year.

And then Slava Voynov, who already had one game-winner in the series, ended those hopes with a wicked wrister in OT, giving the Kings a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Blues once led the Kings 2-0 in this series, but failed to put the champs on their backs by losing a pair of very winnable games in Los Angeles. Now, after letting this one get away from them, they face the daunting task of winning at the Staples Center, where they’ve lost seven straight, just to force a Game 7.

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If Anze Kopitar builds on Monday’s goal and raises his game, the Kings might recover. (Chris Williams/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

It wasn’t long into Game 4 before the Los Angeles Kings felt the boots of the St. Louis Blues pressing down hard on their throats. After allowing two goals in the first five minutes, the defending champs faced the likelihood of a 3-1 series deficit and a return to the road, where they have lost eight straight.

But it turned out that adversity suited them. With nearly a full game to play, they found another gear and took the game to a level that the Blues couldn’t match. And for the first time in the series, L.A.’s offense finally got on track, powering two comebacks in a thrilling 4-3 win that sends the series back to St. Louis knotted at two games apiece.

Here are some quick observations from the series-tying win for the Kings:

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Kings goalie Jonathan Quick redeemed himself after two sloppy outings vs. the Blues. (Chris Williams/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

No doubt that Jonathan Quick’s teammates appreciated him stepping up to take the blame after his miscues led to the winning goals by the St. Louis Blues in the first two games of their series. But all the Los Angeles Kings really needed from him was one of those gritty, never-say-die performances that were a staple of the team’s run to the 2012 Stanley Cup.

Quick came through with a gem on Saturday night, stopping 30 shots to earn his fifth career postseason shutout as the Kings snatched a 1-0 win a trimmed the Blues’ series lead to 2-1.

Here are some observations from Game 3:

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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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The Bouwmeester trade is another questionable rebuilding move by the Flames after trading captain Jarome Iginla last week. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

At some point, maybe not too far into the future, Calgary Flames fans might look back at the deal that sent Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues for a first-round pick, along with defenseman Mark Cundari and goaltender Reto Berra, as the deal that righted this badly listing franchise.

More likely though, this will be remembered as the third entry in GM Jay Feaster’s 2013 trilogy of failed decisions.

This is just a bad, bad deal for the Flames.

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Jordan Leopold was traded Saturday from the Sabres to the Blues (Chris O’Meara/AP)

The Buffalo Sabres sent 32-year-old veteran Jordan Leopold to St. Louis Saturday afternoon in exchange for a pair of draft picks. But was it just a run-of-the-mill pre-deadline deal…or the first sign of an impending First Niagara Center fire sale?

We’ll know more in a couple days, but if Buffalo GM Darcy Regier uses this as a model to deal with the rest of his impending UFAs, it’ll be a step in the right direction for the beleaguered franchise. Leopold was not going to be re-signed, so for Regier to snag a second and a fifth (which graduates to a fourth if the Blues get out of the second round of the playoffs) is a win for the Sabres. Read More…

By Allan Muir

The ways of the hockey gods are mysterious, but fair. They always even things out. Blues’ rookie Jake Allen found that out in spectacular fashion Friday.

Allen made his first NHL start on Wednesday and looked pretty shaky in the process, allowing a goal to Detroit’s Tomas Tatar on the first shot he faced. Not exactly the way that young goalies imagine their careers starting.

But that’s all forgotten after he made one of those plays that even SportsCenter can’t ignore.

Allen was on the spot as the Calgary Flames created a turnover at their own blueline and broke out three-on-one. Some nifty passing — the announcers counted five touches inside the Blues’ zone — led to T.J. Brodie all alone in the slot for an empty-net tap-in. Of course, we wouldn’t be here if it had worked out that way.

His back to Brodie, Allen wheeled around and jabbed his stick across the crease. Amazingly, he got a piece of the puck and sent it skyward, then waited calmly to catch it.

A textbook desperation play, but Allen plays it cool as Clooney.

And the oh-fer-2013 Brodie was left to wonder when the hockey gods will finally smile on him.

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