KINGS 4, BLUES 2: Defenseman Drew Doughty collected a goal and two assists and Jonathan Quick turned aside 18 shots as eighth-seeded Los Angeles seized a commanding 3-0 lead in its Western Conference semifinal series by doubling up visiting St. Louis.

Mike Richards recorded a "Gordie Howe hat trick" and Dwight King and Justin Williams also tallied for Los Angeles, which will look to complete the sweep of the second-seeded Blues on Sunday when it hosts Game 4.

After Chris Stewart leveled the contest with the first of two goals, King answered just 40 seconds later to give Los Angeles a 2-1 advantage early in the second period. King reeled in a pass off the boards and quickly wristed a shot from the right faceoff circle that sailed past Brian Elliott for his first career postseason goal.

Richards doubled the lead midway through the session after his sharp-angle shot caromed off Elliott and into the net.

After Stewart netted his second tally to trim the deficit to one early in the third period, Doughty regained the two-goal advantage just over 3 1/2 minutes later. The defenseman's blast from the high slot trickled past Elliott to send the Staples Center faithful into a frenzy.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stewart recorded his second career two-goal postseason game. His first came in 2010 while he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche. ... Richards' power-play goal was the first such tally of the series. The "Gordie Howe hat trick" was the second of the 2012 playoffs, with Philadelphia's Claude Giroux claiming the first. ... After boasting an NHL-best 1.56 goals-against average this season, Elliott has yielded 12 tallies in this series. ... St. Louis veteran Jason Arnott sat out with a lower-body injury.