Blues Blow Three-Goal Lead To Kings, Lose 6-4

The Blues had that game won. They were in control in the second period with a 4-1 lead. They scored a couple of freak goals and a couple of strong tallies. They looked aggressive and crisp and like winners. And then they allowed five unanswered goals to lose 6-4 at the Los Angeles Kings, the team that killed them in the playoffs last year. Next fucking verse, same as the fucking first.

Both teams chased their goaltenders. The move worked for one of them. The body language on the Blues bench at the end of the game told the entire story: shoulders drooping, shell-shocked expressions, a pissed off coach pacing behind them. Demoralizing is being kind in describing this loss.

It was an old-fashioned first period in Los Angeles Tuesday night. Some pent-up frustration from a frustrating game in Dallas and last spring's playoff sweep spilled over with three fights and 40 penalty minutes in the first period.

The Blues chased Kings starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier after scoring three goals. Jonathan Quick allowed one not long into his time in the game in the second period. Jaroslav Halak looked pretty good. And then he allowed five goals before letting Brian Elliott add one more stick to the fire.

I know that on the Twitter tweets, some have been given to call well performing games #peskyblues. Well they were pesky the first 30 minutes of the game. And then they were #zombieblues.

The camera in the Blues' penalty box got a lot of use. At one point there were four guys in the box and one of them had to stand. When Roman Polak (who got his ass knocked the fuck down in a fight) was sent to the box, we confirmed that while his English might be halting sometimes, he sure knows the word fuck.

Alex Pietrangelo is heating up. He hadn't scored a point in eight games. Then he created a goal by pinching in, staying behind the net and getting aggressive. He wrapped around and tried to pass to the slot, but the puck hit a defender and bounced in. The Blues' third goal was created by Pietrangelo putting a quick shot on net that was redirected in front. If he gets going, the Blues' offense will as well.

The bottom line is that the Blues have struggled to play a full 60 minutes. Tonight was no different. And the Kings made them pay the price. It was an ass-kicking that I bet thousands of fans actually missed because they went to bed with a two or three-goal lead. Good morning, sunshine! The loss kept the Blues tied with like half the Western Conference, but the tiebreakers have sunk the Blues to ninth.

Anybody got a panic button to push around here?