With another overtime looming, St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman joined the rush up the ice, and took his shot - just a simple wrist shot from just beyond the top of the faceoff circle to Jonathan Quick’s right.
That simple wrist shot beat Quick, the L.A. Kings’ goalie and last year’s Conn Smythe winner, on the glove side to give the Blues a 2-1 lead with 51 seconds remaining in regulation. The Blues wouldn’t relinquish that brief lead, taking Game 2 with a 2-1 victory.
It was a sour way to end the night for Quick, who made several terrific saves throughout Thursday’s game.
The defending Stanley Cup champions now trail in this best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final 2-0.
“I gotta stop that. It’s my fault. Two games in a row,” Quick told the L.A. Times. “I gotta be better.”
He makes a good point. In Game 1, he was the Kings’ best player, but made a crucial error handling the puck behind the net that led to Alexander Steen scoring the winning goal in overtime.
His teammates in front of him can be better, too.
The Kings have just two goals in this series. That’s compounded by the fact St. Louis hasn’t necessarily been turning on the red light, either. And yet, the Blues have scored just enough to take a two-games-to-none lead.
“We didn’t expect to be in it, but it’s our own fault we’re in this position,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty told the L.A. Times. “We’ve been fully prepared for their game, fully prepared for what they’re going to do against us, and we just haven’t stepped up to the plate.”