Quick leads Kings to fifth straight win

Goalie records second shutout in three starts and Brown scores twice in 1,200th game.

KINGS 3, ST. LOUIS 0

ST. LOUIS — Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots for his 54th career shutout and Dustin Brown scored two goals to give the Kings a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.

It was the second shutout in the past three starts for the 35-year-old Quick, who blanked Minnesota on Feb. 16. Gabriel Vilardi added a goal as the Kings extended their winning streak to five games.

“We’re not surprised one bit,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said of the winning streak. “We have some confidence. Everybody is in sync .... We’re getting good goaltending. Our specialty teams are giving us a boost most nights. Is that surprising? To us no, but maybe to the hockey world a little bit.”

Brown closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal in his 1,200th career regular-season game, joining five other active players who have reached the plateau. He became the 14th American to reach 1,200 games, and the only active one to do so.

“The big thing is he’s still having fun playing the game. He really is,” McLellan said.

Vilardi pushed in a loose puck as he was falling down outside the crease at 17:30 of the first period. The powerplay goal gave the Kings a 1-0 lead. Los Angeles has scored 16 power-play goals this season over 17 games.

A Zach Sanford giveaway led to the Kings’ second goal. Brown made a nifty move to stickhandle his way to the net and score an unassisted goal on a wrist shot that slid by goalie Jordan Binnington, giving the Kings a 2-0 lead.

Kings defenseman Sean Walker played nearly 18 minutes in his first game since Jan. 28, when he took a slap shot to the face.

St. Louis defenseman Carl Gunnarsson left with a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return.