NHL betting preview: Blues All Star wait is over

THE STORY:  Tinseltown’s team received a bit of help from the clock at the Staples Center on Wednesday en route to a last-second victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Defenseman Drew Doughty scored with four-tenths of a second remaining to give the Kings a 3-2 win, although the clock appeared to freeze for a second. “We didn’t even look to go back and say ‘OK, did something happen (with the clock)?’” NHL executive vice president Colin Campbell said on Thursday. “When it crosses the line (and) you review it, you back the puck out and you see what the clock was. And the clock was 0.4 (seconds). And then … minutes after the game, we see (it and say) ‘Holy cow.’” While the NHL continues to cast an eye on that game, Los Angeles will focus on its road date with St. Louis on Friday.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSW, FSMW

ABOUT THE KINGS (25-16-10): Los Angeles will begin its season-high six-game road trip in the Gateway City, which has proven to be a tough place to play for most NHL clubs. St. Louis has posted an impressive 21-3-4 mark at home while yielding a conference-low 102 goals this season. Los Angeles isn’t too far removed from the latter total – thanks to All-Star Jonathan Quick, who has yielded two goals or less in 11 of his last 13 starts. The 26-year-old Connecticut native has struggled versus the Blues, recording a 2-7-1 career mark.

ABOUT THE BLUES (29-13-7): All-Star Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have been downright dominant for coach Ken Hitchcock, who has secured a 23-6-7 record since taking over for Davis Payne. Halak may receive the nod on Friday due to 5-2-0 career mark versus Los Angeles. For his part, Elliott has dropped all three career decisions against Los Angeles.

OVERTIME:

1. Los Angeles has defeated St. Louis twice this season. Prior to this recent run, the Blues won the previous seven contests between the teams.

2. Although one of the top tier teams in the league, St. Louis has limped to a 13.4 percent conversion rate on the power play.

PREDICTION: Blues 2, Kings 1.

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