SoCal NHL Preview

St Louis (28-22-9) at Los Angeles (25-34-3), 7:30 pm, FSN

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - The surging St. Louis Blues attempt to move closer to playoff contention Thursday when they visit the lowly Los Angeles Kings.

St. Louis, which has not made the playoffs since 2003-04, is 4-0-1 behind a sudden offensive outburst and the stellar play of All-Star goaltender Manny Legace. The Blues went through a rough stretch prior to this, losing 11 of 13. However, the combination of Legace and a resurgent offensive attack has St. Louis just three points behind Vancouver (30-22-8) for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Blues are 21st in the league with 155 goals, but have outscored their opponents, 19-7 in the last five games. Not that they've needed to score much with Legace in net. The nine-year veteran has stopped 167 of the last 175 shots he's faced in his last six starts.

And the 35-year-old should have no problem against the Kings, as he is 10-1-0 with a tie and a 2.58 goals-against average in 14 games against them. Legace stopped 19 shots and the Blues got power-play tallies from Keith Tkachuck, Lee Stempniak and Barret Jackman in a 5-1 win over Chicago on Tuesday. The Blues will try for a sixth straight win over the Kings, who have a league-low 53 points. Los Angeles has lost two straight after being swept by Phoenix in a home-and-home series.