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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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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Anze Kopitar, who was so vital to the Kings in their Cup run last season, has struggled to produce lately. (Jae C. Hong)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• The Kings are rolling, but star center Anze Kopitar is fighting it with just one goal in his last nine games. And he’s not the only one struggling: Jonathan Quick ranks 24th in goals against and 41st in save percentage but he hasn’t lost the trust of his teammates.

• Funny thing about lousy teams dressing a bunch of kids down the stretch: they sometimes find a way to win. The Dallas Stars were buzzing on the energy provided by newcomers Alex Chiasson and Lane MacDermid in an unexpected 3-1 win over the Ducks that pushed them two points further from the Seth Jones Sweepstakes.

• “Hey, Rob…what are you doing tonight?” 43-year-old former roller hockey star Rob Laurie was an emergency backup in net last night for the Ducks.

• The new-look Buffalo Sabres found another way to win Friday night. Luke Adam, Jochen Hecht and Brian Flynn broke long scoring droughts to lead the effort.

• Cory Conacher was “decent, if not spectacular”  in his debut with the Senators.

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