ST. LOUIS – A banged up St. Louis Blues team is limping home from a tough west coast swing as they host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.Four prominent players were knocked out of the lineup during the three-game trip that started in Chicago and ended with stops in Las Vegas and San Jose. The Blues went 1-2 Winnipeg Jets Hats Womens , with both loses being shutouts including a 4-0 setback to the Sharks on Saturday.Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson and forward Jaden Schwartz, who both suffered upper body injuries in the Blues’ 4-1 win at Vegas on Friday, missed the finale against the Sharks. Forward Alexander Steen missed both the Vegas and San Jose games as did forward Pat Maroon, who suffered an upper-body injury against Chicago game and was placed on injured reserve.Article continues below ...“It’s being tested,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before the game against the Sharks. “It was tested within the game last game. Obviously we had to shorten the bench playing the majority of the game with five defensemen and then losing Schwartzie and guys stepped up. They seemed to be excited about the opportunity for extra ice time. Back-to-back games can be a little bit more of a challenge, but we’ve got young legs in the lineup and it’s an opportunity for guys to prove they belong at this level or they belong in the role we’re giving them an opportunity to play tonight.”Yeo said there would be a further update on the injury situation on Monday before the team hosted the Kings. The Blues did not make any immediate roster moves, due to still having 12 healthy forwards already with the team.The injuries, plus the travel Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys , seemed to catch up with the Blues in a lackluster performance against the Sharks.“It wasn’t just the offense,” Yeo told the Post-Dispatch. “Defensively, we also gave up a whole bunch tonight too. In the third period, we generated a number of high quality scoring chances and it was all through hard work. It’s a simple recipe that we have to follow night after night. We did it last night and we didn’t do it for the first two periods tonight and we just can’t keep coming and saying it’s good one night, it’s not good the next night. We have to demand of ourselves that we bring it night after night for 60 minutes.”Monday’s game will be the first meeting this season between the Blues and Kings. The Blues won two out of the three meetings last season.The Kings are coming off of a 5-3 loss at Nashville on Saturday and have lost four of their last five games.Kings center Anze Kopitar snapped a five-game scoreless streak with a two-point night in the loss to the Predators.“It’s extremely frustrating going from an MVP nominee to barely getting any chances,” Kopitar toldNHL.com on Wednesday. “But I’ll correct it. I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll correct it.”On Sunday, the Kings recalled forward Austin Wagner from AHL-Ontario. Forward Trevor Lewis (fractured foot) is listed week-to-week and goalie Cole Kehler has been assigned to Ontario. DENVER (AP) Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche leaned on their speed to get off to another flying start.This time, it held up.MacKinnon scored twice www.goldenknightsshoponline.com , including one as part of a three-goal first period and another to chase Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne from the game, and the Avalanche beat the Predators 5-3 in Game 3 on Monday night to pull to 2-1 in the first-round series.Blake Comeau and Gabriel Bourque also scored in a furious opening period that revved up a pom-pom waving capacity crowd. Gabriel Landeskog was credited with an empty-net goal for the Avalanche, who snapped a 12-game skid against the Predators.”Our guys were energized,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”We were on our toes and the aggressors early in that game and it paid off for us.”Game 4 is Wednesday in Denver.For a third straight game in the series, Colorado scored first. But the Avs were able to make it stand in this one. MacKinnon and his teammates have been a different bunch at home this year. Their 28 home wins in the regular season was tied for the most in franchise history with the 2000-01 squad that hoisted the Stanley Cup.”They gained a lot of momentum, used their atmosphere to their advantage and we weren’t able to respond in that first period,” Predators forward Ryan Johansen said. ”That can’t happen.”MacKinnon’s goal at 4:25 of the second period gave Colorado a 4-0 lead and prompted the Predators to pull Rinne in favor of backup Juuse Saros . Rinne allowed four goals on 15 shots.”We weren’t very good in front of him,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. ”I didn’t think we were giving him the support he needed.”Laviolette wasn’t in a mood to elaborate on what exactly went wrong.”It wasn’t good Vegas Golden Knights T-Shirts Womens ,” Laviolette said of the first period.Any particular reason?”We didn’t play very well,” he said.One thing was clear: MacKinnon was as fast as ever on home ice. He led the league in home scoring in the regular season with 67 points.”He thrives on the energy in the building,” Bednar said. ”He’s just so explosive at home. He’s dangerous every time he touches the puck at home.”Jonathan Bernier stopped 29 shots on a night when the Avalanche finished 0 for 5 on the power play. Johansen had a second-period goal and Colton Sissons scored another in the third to make it 4-2. Saros was pulled for an extra skater with around 2:20 left and, moments later, Landeskog was credited with a goal after being dragged down on a breakaway. A sliding Landeskog was trying to get the puck over to MacKinnon for the hat trick.It’s about the only thing that didn’t work out for Colorado.”We proved to ourselves that we can get a win,” MacKinnon said. ”Hopefully it just snowballs from here.”Nashville got on the board midway through the second after Colorado was whistled for two penalties on a play, giving the Predators a 5-on-3 advantage. Johansen knocked in a rebound to make it 4-1, but Colorado quelled the other portion of the power play.Late in the second Vegas Golden Knights Hoodies Womens , P.K. Subban and MacKinnon got tangled up near the corner. It led to some pushing and shoving with both getting holding penalties.Simply playoff hockey.”Anytime you play the same team over and over and over again you start to really dislike each other,” said Austin Watson, who added a late goal. ”It’s good battles, good intensity out there and it’s fun hockey.”It didn’t take long for Colorado to get on the board with Comeau scoring 1:50 into the game and on the team’s second shot. The Avs beat Rinne on their opening shot in each of the first two games.Shortly after Bourque tipped in Patrik Nemeth’s shot, MacKinnon scored with 1:53 remaining in the first when he took a pass from Landeskog, used a burst of speed to get free and beat Rinne with a wrist shot.The last time the Avalanche played at the Pepsi Center it was also desperation time. They beat St. Louis in a winner-gets-into-the-playoffs season finale.NOTES: Nashville LW Viktor Arvidsson nearly had a goal in the first when he and the puck crashed into Bernier at the same time. The puck slid in, but the officials waved it off due to goaltender interference. … F Filip Forsberg had an assist on Johansen’s goal to become the Predators’ all-time postseason points leader (29). … A Nashville fan threw a catfish onto the ice. … Avs D Samuel Girard missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. … D Nikita Zadorov celebrated his 23rd birthday. … Broncos LB Von Miller showed up wearing a No. 58 Avalanche jersey.—