Blues defeat Kings 4-1, gain share of first

ST. LOUIS -- Keith Tkachuk appreciates the blue-collar attitude displayed by teammate Dallas Drake.

Power-play goals by Tkachuk and Drake in the first period powered St. Louis to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Drake did just about everything. Besides scoring his fourth goal, he also had an assist, blocked a shot, and provided a key defensive play. He beat Trent Klatt to the puck and cleared it out of the Blues zone.

"Dallas is an animal," Tkachuk said. "He deserves the hard hat we give out every night. He puts himself in a bad situation every time out. More of us should look to that for incentive because you want 20 of those guys."

Drake knows that's the only way he can be successful.

"If I don't play like that, and I've said it many times, I won't be in the league very long," Drake said. "I'll be sitting at the end of a bench somewhere. That's how I have to play to be successful. If I get away from that, I get in trouble."

Blues coach Joel Quenneville likes just what Drake gives the team.

"Drake was great," Quenneville said. "He did everything. He blocked a couple of key shots, got a good stick on one late in the game. He scored. So, he did everything we're hoping for and more."

The Blues killed off three penalties to win for the sixth time in seven home games. St. Louis is 8-2 at home and ranks first in the NHL in penalty-killing there, having allowed just two power-play goals.

Tkachuk, who skated in his 800th NHL game, scored his 13th goal of the season from the slot at 6:59 of the first. Tkachuk has scored eight times in nine games.

Kings center Eric Belanger tied it 1-1 when he snapped a backhander by goalie Chris Osgood from the right circle at 12:45.

The Blues regained the lead at 16:44 when Drake alertly put in the rebound of a shot by Eric Nickulas.

St. Louis scored on its second shot of the second period when Nickulas picked up a loose puck at the right side of the crease. Nickulas skated to his left and beat goalie Roman Cechmanek with a backhander at 8:13.

The Kings replaced Cechmanek with Cristobal Huet after he allowed three goals on nine shots. In his previous two starts, Cechmanek allowed one goal in each -- both wins.

"It's hockey and my job is to stop the puck," Cechmanek said. "When it's 3-1, the coach is trying to do something with the game."

Kings coach Andy Murray said the Blues outworked his club.

"We knew it would be a grind and check it out game," Murray said. "We're two hardworking teams. We play a lot of the same and obviously their lineup has a few more naturally gifted offensive players."

The Kings held a 28-21 shots advantage over the Blues, 11-1 when leading after two periods.

Drake scored an empty-net goal at 18:38, giving the Blues a 4-1 lead. It was Drake's 10th career two-goal game and his first since Nov. 9, 2002.

Notes: The Kings and Blues wore vintage sweaters with St. Louis sporting blue jerseys from the 1979-80 season while the Kings wore replicas of their triple crown-era sweaters from the 1980-81 season. ... Martin Straka debuted for the Kings, who acquired him from Pittsburgh on Sunday. ... St. Louis won 1-0 at Los Angeles on Nov. 15.