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LOS ANGELES -- Dustin Penner could have simply dumped the puck and allowed the clock to run out on the second period of yet another dead-even game. Instead, he ripped a long slap shot at the net, and it ramped off a St. Louis stick and flew past Brian Elliott right before the buzzer sounded. "You might as well try," Penner said with a shrug. "You never know if you dont throw it on net." Thats the type of positive thinking that made the Los Angeles Kings into champions, and thats why they finally got rid of the Blues after a bruising first round of their title defence. Penner scored the tiebreaking goal in the final second of the second period, and the Kings advanced with their fourth straight victory over the Blues, 2-1 in Game 6 on Friday night. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and Drew Doughty scored his first goal of the post-season for the reigning Stanley Cup winners, who won four straight to finish off fourth-seeded St. Louis. The Blues seemed poised to head into the final minutes with ample momentum after Chris Stewarts tying goal early in a period dominated by St. Louis. Instead, Penner heeded his teammates instructions to shoot from just inside the blue line -- and his rocket of a shot glanced off St. Louis defenceman Roman Polaks stick blade and beat Elliott for his second goal of the playoffs. "I was trying to look at the clock, to see if it counted," Kings centre Mike Richards said. "It all happened pretty quick. Thats a great feeling." The clock ran out while Penners slap shot rattled around in Elliotts net, but video replay confirmed the puck entered the net in plenty of time. The goal -- officially with 0.2 seconds left -- entered Kings lore alongside Penners winning overtime score to end last seasons Western Conference finals in Phoenix. "When the game means a lot more, its definitely a lot more fun to play," said Penner, who spent part of the season in coach Darryl Sutters doghouse as a healthy scratch. "These types of games bring out the best in this team." Indeed, the Kings held up well under enormous pressure from the hungry Blues: Every game in this bitter, physical series was decided by one goal, and Quick allowed just 10 goals in the six-game series. The Blues won the first two at home, but the Kings responded with four straight gritty victories, winning a playoff series after trailing 0-2 for just the second time in franchise history. Elliott stopped 14 shots for the Blues, who were eliminated by Los Angeles for the second straight season, this time despite taking a 2-0 series lead. St. Louis physically beat up the Kings, who responded with hard-nosed play of their own, but Quick outplayed Elliott by a minor margin. "What Im going to tell them is its not good enough," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If you want to be a champion, its not good enough. You cant allow the goalie to outwork you. If you want to be a champion, youre going to have to find a way. ... We took everything to the beach, but we didnt finish putting it in the water." Los Angeles has won 10 straight games at Staples Center since March, and its sellout crowd waved white towels and roared as the Kings became the first Stanley Cup champion in three years to advance to the second round. The defending champs wont know who theyll face next until Anaheim and Detroit finish their series Sunday night. If the second-seeded Ducks win, Southern Californias two NHL teams will meet in the playoffs for the first time. The Blues seriously tested the Kings, whose title defence already has been tougher than last seasons championship run in one respect. That eighth-seeded club roared to a 3-0 series lead in all four matchups and beat the Western Conferences top three seeds during a 16-4 rampage through the post-season. The difference yet again was Quick, who showed off his Conn Smythe Trophy form while stopping every shot in the third period. He stopped 167 of 177 shots in the series (.944 save percentage). "We hit a few posts, and left a couple sitting right there in the crease," Blues captain David Backes said. "Its beginning to be a broken record. We didnt get the job done. We were up 2-0, and to lose four straight, its pretty sour right now." The Kings went ahead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first period of Game 6 when Colin Fraser made a drop pass to Doughty. He froze Polak with a faked slap shot before firing a nasty wrist shot past Elliott. Doughty, another playoff standout last year, hadnt scored a goal in the series despite logging more than 29 1/2 minutes per game. Doughty plays nearly seven more minutes per game than any other Los Angeles player. St. Louis responded with appropriate desperation, pressing the Kings and barely missing a goal when Chris Stewart ripped a shot off Quicks post late in the first period. The Blues equalized early in the third when Polaks long slap shot deflected off Porters body and sneaked inside Quicks far post. Porter, who turns 29 later this month, made his NHL playoff debut in Game 1. The Kings played solid defence in the third until midway through the period, when Patrik Berglund jumped on a turnover and skated in alone for two chances. Quick stopped the first, and the second sailed above the crease. St. Louis wasnt whistled for a penalty in Game 6 until 9:32 remained. The Blues pressed the attack in the final minutes, but Quick had little serious trouble. "There wasnt much ebb and flow to the series," Sutter said. "It was so close. It was always one goal. It was always a shift-to-shift competition the whole way." NOTES: NHL champions Chicago and Boston both lost in the first round of their title defences over the previous two seasons. The NHL hasnt had a repeat champion since 1998. ... Los Angeles beat Detroit in a first-round series after trailing 0-2 in 2001. The Kings and Blues have split their four playoff matchups in the franchises history. ... The Kings recalled RW Anthony Stewart from Manchester of the AHL, adding him to 10 prospects recalled Thursday. He is Chris Stewarts older brother. Wholesale Cubs Jerseys . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. https://www.cheapcubs.com/ . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Cubs Jerseys 2019 . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Chicago Cubs Store . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Ohio State could wind up ranked No. 2 in the country at the end of the season and not make its conference championship game.The Buckeyes lost control of their destiny last Saturday not because of what they did on the field in their second consecutive 62-3 victory but as a result of Michigans loss at Iowa.The Wolverines first setback this season pushed them into a three-way tie with Ohio State and Penn State atop the Big Ten East Division.What the season comes down to is this: If the Buckeyes win their final two games, against Michigan State on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN) and Michigan the following week, theyll need the Nittany Lions to lose one of their final two games against Rutgers and Michigan State to secure a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game.If Michigan had remained undefeated entering its annual showdown with Ohio State and then lost to the Buckeyes, it would have created a three-way tie atop the standings, assuming Penn State wins out. The tiebreaker scenario in that case would have favored Ohio State.Michigan, meanwhile, still controls its fate. Penn State, by virtue of an upset of Ohio State, has the next-best chance of going to Indianapolis.So, for the second straight year, Ohio State could ultimately end up being the best team in the Big Ten at the end of the season and not make the conference title game.The question then becomes: Would a one-loss Ohio State team that didnt win its conference championship still land one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff?I see it like this: If we win out all our games, Big Ten championship or not, youre not going to put us in? Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett asked. Like youre going to leave Ohio State out? That doesnt make sense to me.The answers will be provided in the next three weeks. In the meantime, all the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) can do is prepare for Saturdays visit to East Lansing to take on the struggling Spartans (3-7, 1-6), who entered the week as 24-point underdogs.Novembers here and we have a big one coming, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said.Entering the season, Saturdays matchup against Michigan State was one of the games circled on the calendar as a potential blockbuster. But the Spartans, after winning the Big Ten championship a year ago, limp into the game with just one conference win, which finally came last Saturday when they ended a seven-game losing streak with a 49-0 victory over Rutgers.Weve come to play every single foottball game, so its unfortunate where were at, said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, a former Ohio State assistant.dddddddddddd But you cant look past it. You cant look backward here; you have to look to the future. Ohio State is a big game for us, for this program, and always has been. A lot of guys from Ohio, so its a special game in that respect.All thats left for Michigan State now is the chance to impact the Big Ten East race in their final two games against Big Ten East co-leaders Ohio State and Penn State. A win Saturday would be a stunner, but the Spartans werent expected to win last year in Columbus.We have reasons to play, even if its in a spoiler fashion, Dantonio said. There are possibilities as we go forward. And I think that as we look at who were playing -- two very good football teams, two Top 10 football teams -- weve got our work cut out for us as we always do. But weve got every reason to play.Ohio State shouldnt have any problems getting hyped for this one, knowing whats at stake as far as their championship hopes. The Buckeyes undoubtedly will also remember the pain of their only loss last year, when Michigan State spoiled a perfect season with an upset on the last play of the game in the rain in Columbus.As the Buckeyes left the field last Saturday in College Park, Md., hours before Michigan stumbled at Iowa, they were feeling good about their performance against Maryland and thinking about avenging the 2015 loss to Michigan State.Theres a little bit of human element that comes into the game, especially with them ruining senior night for us last year and ruining the season we were supposed to have last year, Ohio State guard Billy Price said. Its in the back of your head, absolutely.Ohio State appears to have ironed out issues on offense since the Oct. 22 loss at Penn State, outscoring Nebraska and Maryland 124-3 in the last two games.Theres more of a concerted effort to get the ball in H-back Curtis Samuels hands. He has game-breaking talent -- he is the only FBS player with at least 600 yards rushing (637) and receiving (750), and he has 13 touchdowns (seven rushing, six receiving).He just knows how to make a play, Buckeyes cornerback Marshon Lattimore said. He knows how to go out there and do what he has to do to put us in a position to win. I love when he touches the ball. ' ' '