ST. LOUIS — In a commanding performance, the St. Louis Blues secured a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. The win was bolstered by goals from Colton Parayko and Pavel Buchnevich, while Jordan Binnington was solid in the net, making 25 saves.
Dylan Holloway and Zack Bolduc also contributed to the scoring for the Blues, cementing their fourth consecutive win of the season—an achievement they hadn’t reached until now.
The Los Angeles Kings, struggling to gain their footing, saw Kevin Fiala find the back of the net and David Rittich make 30 saves. However, the team has been on a losing streak, dropping their last three games.
St. Louis widened their lead in the second period when Bolduc scored his ninth goal of the season on a breakaway at 9:27, making it 3-1. Earlier, Buchnevich had netted his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Robert Thomas, with 1:53 left in the first period, giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead. Thomas continues to be a playmaker, recording assists in nine consecutive games.
Parayko tied the game 1-1 in the first period with his career-best 15th goal, thanks to an assist from Jordan Kyrou, occurring just 9:37 into the match. Fiala had initially put the Kings on the board first with his 24th goal achieved on a power play at just 3:43 into the game.
The Kings appeared weary after playing back-to-back games, whereas the Blues were in a commanding rhythm for much of the match. Under the guidance of head coach Jim Montgomery, St. Louis appears to be gathering momentum, exhibiting a 4-0-1 record since the season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
A noteworthy moment happened when Buchnevich nearly scored a second goal right at the termination of the second period, but the puck crossed the line a fraction of a second too late.
A milestone was achieved when Montgomery celebrated his 200th career regular-season win in just his 336th game as a head coach, ranking him the sixth-fastest to reach this landmark in NHL history.
Looking ahead, the Kings are scheduled to play in Chicago on Monday night, while the Blues will kick off a six-game road trip facing Dallas on Sunday night.
