Los Angeles Kings @ St Louis Blues 2-5 - 12/16

St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko needed to end his postgame media session at Scottrade Center quickly on Tuesday. A call to his grandfather in Russia was in store. Tarasenko, who scored his second hat trick of the season, speaks to his grandfather Vladimir after each game. The two dissect all of Tarasenko's games. So what would Grandpa Vladimir say after his namesake was a catalyst in the Blues' 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings?
"We'll see. Hope he will be happy," Tarasenko said.

Blues needed a flurry of goals in the third period to finally overcome the Kings, a nemesis in recent seasons. Jaden Schwartz, Tarasenko and Alexander Steen scored in a 2:30 span to erase a one-goal deficit in the third period. Tarasenko had his second four-point game for the Blues (21-8-2), who found out hours before the game that right wing T.J. Oshie would not play because of family reasons. But St. Louis ran its streak of points on home ice to eight games. Jake Allen made 21 saves in a winning effort to help the Blues win their fifth straight game. The Blues are 11-1-1 in their past 13 home games and defeated the Kings (15-11-6) for the third time in the past 12 regular-season games. Despite scoring four times in the third, the Blues didn't register their first shot on goal until eight minutes in. They finished the period with eight, but limited the Kings to one. The Kings were going according to script how they've had success against the Blues in recent history. They got pucks deep, they forechecked in the offensive zone and forced the Blues into errors in the neutral zone. The recipe was working for 40 minutes. Los Angeles, which got two goals from Marian Gaborik, ended a five-game trip 1-3-1 and lost for the first time in regulation when leading after two periods. Jonathan Quick made 18 saves.
But momentum swung in the game when the Blues cut the Kings' lead in half and then used a two-man advantage to level things off and then take control. Kings coach Darryl Sutter in a roundabout way was looking for more saves from Quick in the third period. Shattenkirk's shot on a 5-on-3 power play tied the game 2-2 at 11:20 of the third on a shot from the slot that was deflected by Schwartz in front; Tarasenko's power goal at 13:00 on a wrist shot from the right circle gave the Blues the lead for good on; Steen scored off 3-on-2 rush at 13:50 to make it 4-2. Tarasenko's empty-net goal with 1:24 completed the hat trick, his second of the season. He leads the Blues with 20 goals. He's the first Blue to record two hat tricks in a season since Brett Hull in 1996-97. Gaborik, who has 38 points in 35 games against the Blues, scored 5:39 into the second period when he was able to deflect a loose puck in front of Allen off a scramble. Chris Porter was initially able to save a goal by kicking the puck off the line, but Gaborik was on the doorstep to make it 1-0. Gaborik doubled the lead when Anze Kopitar threaded a pass into the slot for a quick redirection over Allen 11 minutes into the second. It was the Kings' first power-play goal against the Blues in 30 attempts. Tarasenko's first of the game cut the Kings' lead to 2-1 when he took Steve Ott's pass into the high slot and beat Quick with a precise wrist shot high glove side 1:29 after Gaborik's power-play goal. Tarasenko's goal was the Blues' first against the Kings and Quick in 131:34. Patrik Berglund gave the Blues their best chance to break the scoreless game in the first period. His wrist shot got past Quick, but not the far post. Quick was able to smother Petteri Lindbohm's rebound with 58.3 seconds left despite the Kings outshooting the Blues 11-6 in the period. Tarasenko extended his point streak to six games with 10, including six goals. The Kings will host the Blues on Thursday.

Blues Quotes

Ken Hitchcock: "Even though there was tough sledding in the third period at the start getting through the neutral zone, we were still at least pushing the envelope, and starting to do the things that I think we anticipated we'd do early. It was a very tactical game. ... For us, we need to see some reward for the effort and the work and we need to see some reward for playing the right way. So we get a little reward, we feel good about ourselves and hopefully we can build on this momentum."
David Backes: "You kind of felt it in the game; it was time to sink or swim. Our guys responded really well. We get on our horse and start playing our game where we're getting pucks deep and forcing them to take a couple penalties there. You started to see that glimmer in our eyes. Enough of taking a back seat to these guys. We can play with them when we're all-in on the effort. ... You don't come back from a 2-0 hole to the defending Stanley Cup champions too often."
Vladimir Tarasenko: "It's only one game. Thanks to my linemates and my teammates to support me. It's really nice ... first hat trick here in Scottrade and thanks for the fans. It was unbelievable. We were happy we were able to compete at a high level. We just have to keep up the good work."
Steve Ott: "It's unbelievable how [Tarasenko] elevates his game; it's pretty impressive. Scoring 20 goals already before Christmas is something special. It's a testament to his work ethic"