Kings at home on road
ST. LOUIS - The road has been an extended highlight reel for the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs. A breakthrough regular season by the Blues isn't meaning much right now.
Anze Kopitar scored twice in a four-goal, first-period blitz as the Kings embarrassed St. Louis from the start in a 5-2 whipping Monday for their fifth straight road win this postseason.
The Kings' latest traveling triumph came one week after they eliminated the Presidents' Trophy winner in overtime at Vancouver.
"We got off to a good start. I mean, scoring 30 seconds into a game helps," said forward Dustin Brown, who had three assists. "But we didn't let off the gas at all."
Mike Richards and Jeff Carter had a goal apiece and Brown and Dustin Penner each had a pair of assists in a period that was one goal shy of the franchise playoff record of five in 1993 against Vancouver.
The last team to start 5-0 on the road in the playoffs was the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, when they won the Stanley Cup.
"There's a lot of work left to be done," Kopitar said. "We'll definitely take the position we're in right now, but we all realize they're a good team and they're not going to go away easily."
Brown assisted on Kopitar's short-handed goal and has a hand in all four of the Kings' short-handed goals in the playoffs, two goals and two assists.
Before the game, Penner said he was "role playing," pretending it was the Kings who had dropped Game 1 at home and had that feeling of desperation.
"That's exactly my thought process, 'We can't go down 2-nothing,' " Penner said. "It's only one game, but an opportunity to really put the pressure on them."
Andy McDonald scored 18 seconds into the second for St. Louis, but Justin Williams squashed thoughts of a comeback when he scored on the Kings' first shot of the period.
Matt D'Agostini scored in the third for St. Louis, which was 0-for-9 on the power play. Forward T.J. Oshie was among seven Blues players minus-2 or worse, and said it was the most disappointing loss of the season.
"You shouldn't have to get down four goals to get guys to get going," Oshie said. "There's a competitive level you need to have for the playoffs and tonight we didn't have it."
Kopitar has three goals and three assists in the playoffs, and has scored in five straight playoff games after leading the Kings in scoring for the fifth straight season with 25 goals and 76 points. Brown added a third assist in the second period and has a team-leading nine points in the postseason.
The Kings have won seven straight on the road in the playoffs, counting a pair against San Jose last spring, and are in an enviable spot taking the series back to Los Angeles, with Game 3 on Thursday.
The Blues are 1-16 in franchise history when facing a 2-0 series deficit.
"We've got some looking in the mirror to do," St. Louis forward and captain David Backes said. "X's and Os and film, we've done that to death. It's about intestinal fortitude, coming together as a group."
Even an early fight between B.J. Crombeen and Los Angeles' Dwight King, whose boarding penalty knocked out star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in Game 1 on Saturday, failed to provide a spark for the Blues.
Pietrangelo was a Game 2 scratch but with a lower body injury rather than a concussion-related issue as had been feared after he crashed face-first into the boards near the end of the second period Saturday.
OVECHKIN, CAPITALS PULL EVEN WITH RANGERS
NEW YORK - Alex Ovechkin silenced the Madison Square Garden crowd that has been taunting him for two games.
If he can fire up the fans back at home, too, the Washington Capitals could be in store for a deep playoff run.
Ovechkin scored on a power with 7:27 left to snap a tie, lifting the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers that squared the Eastern Conference semifinal series at a game apiece Monday.
Just under 6 minutes after Ryan Callahan got the Rangers even with a power-play goal, Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead for good after they squandered a 2-0 lead.
Whether Ovechkin heard the derisive chants that greeted him every time there were 8 minutes left - matching his uniform number - in each period, they didn't knock him off his game.
Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera scored first-period goals for the Capitals, who will host the next two games of the best-of-7 series. Washington is trying to repeat its first-round feat when it lost the series opener but rallied to beat Boston in seven games. The Capitals have earned four of their five wins in this postseason on the road.
Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto had two assists for the top-seeded Rangers, who got forward Brian Boyle back from a three-game injury absence but couldn't turn it into a commanding lead in the series.
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