May 10, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) and St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) players shake hands after game six of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Staples Center. Kings won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The series was about as close as you could get, with every game being decided by one goal and only once did a team have a two goal lead, and that lasted a mere 5 minutes.

After winning game 5 with the first road win in the Series, the Kings came home with what would be their only chance to end the series on home ice.  Drew Doughty opened the scoring 12:37 into the first, when Colin Fraser carried the puck into the Blues’ zone, and dropped it to the defenseman who joined the rush.  After a quick fake shot made the Blues defense and goalie flinch, Doughty wired a snap shot top corner to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

Before the second was 5 minutes old, the game was tied as just after a Blues’ power play had expired, Roman Polak‘s point shot went in off Kevin Porter past Jonathan Quick.  That is how it remained until the dying seconds of the period when Dustin Penner picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried it in to the St. Louis end.  With time ticking down he wired a slap shot that beat Elliott, just as the buzzer sounded to end the period.  Upon review, the puck crossed the line with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.  The Kings went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead and 20 minutes from advancing to the second round.

The third period saw LA hang on, mustering only 3 shots, but allowing only 8, all of which were stopped by Quick.The Kings took game 6 2-1 and the series 4-2.

It was certainly a series that will be remembered for its physicality, and a couple of early goaltending gaffes by Quick that gave the Blues the 2-0 series lead.  After that, Quick was great and didn’t allow any more goals that were not earned by the Blues.  Brian Elliott was his equal at the other end for the most part, but the short-side goals did him in in this series.

LA will play the Ducks if they beat Detroit, or the Sharks should the Wings beat the Ducks. Either way it will be a battle of California in round two.

Apr 11, 2013; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Chris Thorburn (22) tips the puck past Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen (30) off a shot from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey (not pictured) during the third period at the MTS Center. Winnipeg wins 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

1. Jason Bailey scored both Islanders goals as New York upended Boston 2-1 to keep them tied with the Senators for the 6th playoff spot.  Tyler Seguin scored for Boston, who dropped to the 4th seed with the loss. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 30 shots while Tuukka Rask turned aside 34 shots directed his way.
2. Washington stayed 2 points up on Winnipeg with a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes.  Troy Brouwer scored twice for the Caps, with Mike Green adding the other.  Jeff Skinner scored in the first period to give the Canes the lead through 20 minutes.  Carolina peppered Braden Holtby with 44 shots, but the Caps goalie turned aside 43 of them to get the win.
3. Defensemen P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov each had a goal and an assist to lead the Canadiens to a 5-1 win over the Sabres.  Rene Bourque, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher had the other goals for the Habs, who pass the Bruins into the second seed in the East, a point up on their divisional rival.  Bryan Flynn had the lone Buffalo goal, the only one of the lowly 15 shots they could muster on Peter Budaj.
4. Pittsburgh got two goals and an assist from Jussi Jokinen and a goal and two assists from Pascal Dupuis in their 6-3 win over the Lightning.  Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin and Tanner Glass also scored for the Penguins.  Teddy Purcell had two of Tampa’s goals that all came on the power play, with Brett Connolly scoring the other.  Each team scored three times with the man advantage in a game that saw 10 total power plays.
5. The Panthers and Jets were tied 2-2 after 6 minutes, but it was all Winnipeg after that as they scored 5 unanswered to win the game 7-2.  Evander Kane scored twice with Andrew Ladd, Grant Clitsome and Dustin Byfuglien each adding a goal and an assist.  Aaron Gagnon and Chris Thorburn added singles.  TJ Brennan and Tomas Fleischmann each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers.
6. Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture each scored in regulation and the shootout as San Jose downed Detroit 3-2.  Justin Abdelkader and Jakub Kindl scored for the Wings to get them a much needed point.  The Wings moved two points ahead of Phoenix in the race for 8th in the West.
7. Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots for his third consecutive shutout in St. Louis’ 2-0 win over the Wild.  The Blues move 2 points up on the Wild in 6th place, while the Minnesota sits 7th, 2 points up on Detroit and more importantly, 4 up on 9th place Phoenix.
8. Mike Richards had a goal and an assist in regulation, while Jeff Carter had the other and also scored in the shootout to help the Kings down the Avalanche 3-2.  Patrick Bordeleau scored his first career goal for the Avs, while Paul Stastny also counted for Colorado.  In addition to Carter, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar also scored in the shootout to give Jonathan Quick the win.

That concludes our tour around the NHL for Thursday night.  Check back tomorrow when we recap the 5 games on tap Friday, with the only Eastern conference game being the Senators at the New Jersey Devils.