Kings beat Blues 3-2 in OT, take 3-2 series lead

ST. LOUIS -- Slava Voynov scored on an odd-man rush eight minutes into overtime and the Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues for the third straight time, 3-2 Wednesday night.

The win put the defending Stanley Cup champions on the verge of surviving the first round, leading 3-2 heading to Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Alex Pietrangelo scored on a wrist shot from the point with 44.1 seconds remaining in regulation and goalie Brian Elliott off for an extra attacker. That forced overtime for the second time in the series, and was the third goal in the final minute of the third period in the series.

The Kings' Justin Williams scored in the final minute of a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 1, also in St. Louis. The Blues had a 2-0 series lead after Barret Jackman scored in the final minute of Game 2.

All five games have been decided by one goal, the only first-round series with that distinction.

The Kings ended the Blues' eight-game home win streak in which Elliott allowed one goal each time.

Jeff Carter scored in the opening minute of the second and third periods and Jonathan Quick had another strong game in goal for the Kings, the first road team to win in the series.

Voynov scored the only goal in the Kings' 1-0 Game 3 victory. That had been the defenseman's lone point of the series before he joined the attack and slid the puck underneath Elliott's pads.

Alex Steen's third goal of the series tied it at 1 in the second period for St. Louis. Steen, whose short-handed overtime goal decided Game 1, twice took the puck from defenseman Jake Muzzin on the play.

Pietrangelo got the puck at the point off a clean faceoff win by David Backes and slid into the middle before threading a shot past Quick after two teammates were unsuccessful at deflection attempts.

Carter's power-play goal capitalized on a tripping penalty to Jackman at the end of the second period. Anze Kopitar got Elliott out of position on an odd-man rush before Carter converted a one-timer to put the Kings up 2-1.

The Blues dominated much of the scoreless opening period, responding from their fadeout while blowing a pair of leads in a 4-3 loss in Game 4. The reunited CPR fourth line of Adam Cracknell, Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves had a handful of nice scoring chances in addition to setting the tone physically.

It took the Kings just 14 seconds to take the lead in the second period, though, when Carter tapped a rebound past Elliott. Carter, among the NHL leaders with 26 goals, had no points in the first three games.

The Blues' No. 1 line was victimized again, with Patrik Berglund and David Perron on the ice for the fifth straight goal by the Kings.

Steen tied it a little over five minutes later. Steen knocked Muzzin's clearing effort out of the air with his stick and won a battle for the puck behind the net before wheeling around and scoring on a high shot.

Notes: Cracknell was a healthy scratch in Game 4 in favor of rookie Vladimir Tarasenko, who made his playoff debut and was no factor. ... Kings coach Darryl Sutter made one lineup change, too, scratching D Keaton Ellerby in favor of 21-year-old rookie F Tyler Toffoli, who made his playoff debut. D Matt Greene, still getting into condition after missing virtually the entire season, has yet to appear in the series. ... Mike Richards assisted on Carter's second goal and has three assists the last two games.