KINGS 3, BLUES 1: Captain Dustin Brown scored twice and Vezina Trophy finalist Jonathan Quick turned aside 23 shots as eighth-seeded Los Angeles advanced to the Western Conference final for the second time in franchise history after completing a sweep of visiting St. Louis.

Rookie Jordan Nolan also tallied and Anze Kopitar notched a pair of assists for the Kings, who became the first No. 8 seed to eliminate both a No. 1 and 2 seed in the conference.

Los Angeles will face the winner of the Phoenix-Nashville semifinal series. The third-seeded Coyotes, who own a 3-1 edge in that set, host Game 5 on Monday.

The Kings last ventured to the Western (Campbell) Conference final in 1993. Wayne Gretzky netted a hat trick in Game 7 to propel Los Angeles past Toronto and into the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings were then upended by Montreal in five games.

After the Kings and Blues traded goals, Brown gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead by scoring with 1:43 remaining in the first period. The captain skated into the left faceoff circle and wired a shot that sailed between the legs of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and over the glove of Brian Elliott.

Quick made the slim advantage stand up against the second-seeded Blues. The Connecticut native received some help from the crossbar early in the third period on Matt D'Agostini's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle.

Quick then denied captain David Backes from in close before receiving an assist from Kopitar on defenseman Kris Russell's point-blank chance. Kopitar directed a loose puck in the crease back toward the glove of Quick to maintain the one-goal lead.

Brown capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left to send the Staples Center faithful into a frenzy.

Nolan opened the scoring just 4:36 into the first period after cleaning up a rebound in the slot before wristing the puck past Elliott.

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk leveled the contest nearly seven minutes later with a blast from outside the right faceoff circle. The puck sailed under the right arm of Quick for his first career postseason goal.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven series on nine separate occasions. The Blues have been swept in eight of those - and eliminated in five games in the other. ... In four games, Los Angeles outscored St. Louis by an 8-2 margin in the first period. ... Elliott finished with 16 saves.