The St. Louis Blues are not waiting around for their goaltending situation to improve.
About an hour after the Blues failed to protect a 4-1 lead in a 6-4 loss late Tuesday to the Los Angeles Kings, the team recalled goalie Jake Allen from Peoria.
The 22-year-old Allen was 3-1 in four starts earlier this season, recording a 2.62 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. The second-round draft pick in 2008 was pressed into service earlier this month when Jaroslav Halak was injured and Brian Elliott was struggling.
The Blues made no other goaltending moves, meaning they are content to carry three goaltenders on the roster for now. They are 2-4-1 in their last six games with just 12 goals during that span.
Allen is 13-18-2 in 34 games with Peoria, including two shutouts, a 2.92 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. He could find himself in goal as soon as Thursday's game in Phoenix.
Halak is 5-2-1 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .884 save percentage. Elliott is 3-6-1 with a 3.65 goals-against average and .851 save percentage.
The Blues' combined 3.00 goals-against average ranked 24th out of 30 teams.
A year ago they were the two best goalies, statistically, in the NHL, combining for a record 15 shutouts. Both had goals-against averages under 2.00 (a league-leading 1.56 for Elliott and 1.97 for Halak) and save percentages over .925 (.940 for Elliott and .926 for Halak).
In the loss at L.A., Alex Pietrangelo, David Perron and Chris Stewart each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who have lost five of seven. Halak made 16 saves before Elliott replaced him when Carter scored the Kings' fourth consecutive goal in less than 13 minutes during the third period.
Halak allowed three goals on seven shots to start the third period.
"We're in a little bit of turmoil," Blues captain David Backes said. "I thought we had accomplished something after 40 minutes, but it takes 60 minutes in this league, and we didn't come for the last 20."
Vladimir Sobotka also scored in the Blues' first appearance at Staples Center since the eighth-seeded Kings swept them out of the second round of last season's playoffs. The Blues dropped to 0-2 on their five-game trip.
"We took our foot off the gas, and you can't do that against good teams," Backes said. "They took it to us. We made too many mistakes, and they put it in the back of the net. We got off our game plan and tried to be too cute in our end when they were putting pressure on us ... and the result was four unanswered goals in the third and another bad feeling in this locker room."
After the Blues took a 4-1 lead in the second period, the Kings felt their former playoff opponents letting up slightly, sitting back on defense and protecting their advantage.
That's all the opening Los Angeles needed to launch a stunning comeback.
Jeff Carter scored the tie-breaking goal with 13:51 to play, and the Kings roared back from a three-goal deficit for their seventh win in eight games.
"They started to back off," said Anze Kopitar, who added a goal with 5:09 to play. "It's only natural with a three-goal lead, but we started to sense that if we could get one, then anything is possible."
Jonathan Bernier made back-to-back starts for just the second time this season, but the Kings' backup goalie gave up three goals on eight shots in just over 21 minutes before getting pulled in favor of Jonathan Quick, who stopped five shots. Drew Doughty had two assists for the Kings, who haven't lost at home since Jan. 31.
Perron chased Bernier just 1:14 into the second period when he slipped unmarked into the slot and scored his eighth goal of the season. Stewart beat Quick at an awkward angle later in the period, but Voynov trimmed the Blues' lead to 4-2 with his second goal in 13 games.
Carter chased Halak with a slap shot, scoring his ninth goal in eight games.
"Things started slipping, and when they tied it up, we started panicking," Blues winger Ryan Reaves said. "That seems to be what we've been doing a lot lately -- hitting the panic button when things are going bad. We've got to keep sticking to our game plan and just keep grinding away."
Notes
While Blues center Patrik Berglund has nine goals and 12 points in 22 games, his assist Tuesday was his first point in six game and his first assist in 16 games.
Backes has three goals and just one in his last 11 games, but also has 18 hits in his last three games and a team-leading 68 this season.
* T.J. Oshie has gone seven games without a goal and has one goal in his last 11 contests. He has gone pointless in six of his last seven games, collecting two assists last Friday against Edmonton.
*Veteran center Jason Arnott has skated for St. Louis in a few recent workouts, and the Blues are considering re-signing the 38-year-old veteran to bolster their flagging depth.
* Also Wednesday, the Blues announced the signing of defense prospect Joel Edmundson and forward Yannick Veilleux to three-year entry level contacts.
The 20-year-old Veilleux has 30 goals and 65 points in 58 games with Moncton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Edmundson, 19, has nine goals and 25 points in 60 games with Moose Jaw and Kamloops of the Western Hockey League.
