Sweep by Kings Mars Standout Season for Blues LOUIS (AP) - It seems only natural that many Blues think the Los Angeles Kings can go all the way, the way their grand postseason hopes went down the drain. St. Louis was the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, and the top team standing. Hopes were high for a deep Stanley Cup run given that the President's Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks were out, along with other perennial title threats in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago. They never were comfortable against a Kings team that beat them at their own game with dogged forechecking, smart physical play, and a defense that never left any gaps in front of an acrobatic goalie, Jonathan Quick, who was the star of the show. "They're the best team that we've played against, so that's all I can judge it on," Coach Ken Hitchcock said. L.A. plays the way you have to play to win the Cup now. I'm sure they've had stumbles along the way to figure it out, but it looks like to me like they've figured it out. Being swept by the Kings minimizes to a certain extent what was a breakthrough season. The Blues topped 100 points for the fourth time, shifting to high gear after Hitchcock arrived in early November and tying for second best over all in the N.H.L. with 109 points. Goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott combined for 15 shutouts, and the Blues were the league's best team at home with a franchise-record 30 wins and just 6 regulation losses. Elliott, who led the N.H.L. in goals-against average, was a star after stepping in for an injured Halak in the first round. The Blues had not won a playoff game in eight years or a series in a decade before dispatching the San Jose Sharks in five games. And then it all went flat. Andy McDonald and Patrik Berglund combined for 15 points against the Sharks, but the top six forwards mustered just 7 points against the Kings, with Berglund, T. J. Oshie and Alex Steen going scoreless. A team built on relentless play unaccountably appeared a step slow much of the series, forced to react instead of dictating terms. Discipline went out the window with numerous ill-timed penalties fueling the Kings" momentum. In Game 4, a double-minor high sticking call to Scott Nichol postponed the Blues" third-period comeback effort. Matt D'Agostini was whistled for boarding, negating a penalty on the Kings" Dustin Brown for breaking Vladimir Sobotka's stick. "We took penalties at the wrong time," Hitchcock said. We got emotionally wrapped up during the shift and couldn't shut it down when we needed to shut it down. Spotty defense too often left Elliott on his own with Brown, Dustin Penner and Anze Kopitar free to dangle the puck near the crease uncovered. Elliott was good, but not great the way Quick was. Injuries took a toll, too. The star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missed Game 2 with an injury believed to be to a knee, and although he returned for the last two games and led the team in minutes, he was not the same. Pietrangelo was on the ice for six of the Kings" last seven goals. The play of defenseman Barret Jackman and forward Jason Arnott sagged noticeably. Perhaps they were hurt, too. "I don't think we ever got up to our game," Steen said."Give L.A. a lot of credit, they played well, but I definitely don't think we played up to par." So now the Blues are watching and wondering what might have been. "What we really play for is postseason success," said forward David Backes, the team captain. This is something that's going to sting, but we're going to have to learn from it.