GLENDALE, Ariz – Outside the Jobbing.com Arena on Tuesday afternoon, the high temperature hit 110 degrees. The only thing that may be hotter is the play of the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings continued their dominance of the Western Conference, pounding the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 in game two of their best-of-seven series. Forward Jeff Carter, who came to the Kings from Columbus in February, notched his first career playoff hat trick in support of goalie Jonathan Quick who made 24 saves The teams now head to Los Angeles where the Kings have a shot at sweeping their second consecutive series and gaining a birth in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Adding to the problems that Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett and his team now face, they could be without captain Shane Doan, center Martin Hanzal and goalie Mike Smith. Both players were involved in plays where supplemental discipline could leave them on the sidelines for Thursdayâs game three or more. Doan was given a major penalty and game misconduct for a hit in the second period on Trevor Lewis while Smith took a chop at the back of Dustin Brownâs legs that drew a minor penalty and left Brown in pain. Hanzel was shown the gate midway through the third when he rammed Brown head-first into the boards.
If the Coyotes thought the Kings had forgotten the script from Sundayâs game one, they were mistaken. Los Angeles came out again looking to rattle Smith and his teammates, recording five of the first six shots on net. The Coyotes played much better in the opening twenty minutes than they had Sunday, giving Quick more work in the first eight minutes than he had in game one. Smith was continuing to be the glue for Phoenix, making a spectacular save on Justin Williams to keep the game scoreless.
The Kingsâ hustle, a big key to their success all playoffs long, once again paid dividends before the period was done. With just under seven minutes left before the intermission, an innocent dump-in turned into the puck coming around the boards to Lewis. He put the puck back to the point where Drew Doughty was waiting. Doughty drifted in and let go with a laser that Dwight King was credited with tipping past Smith with the game-opening and eventual game-winning goal.
âI didnât think tonight we were especially great. I thought we were better in the first game than we were tonight,â Kingsâ head coach Darryl Sutter said. âI think we wanted to get through that first period because we knew it was going to be important for them. I think we scored the deflection goal and then we scored the power play goal (in the second period) and that was really important for us.â
Phoenix started to come unglued in the second, giving Los Angeles the opportunity to open the lead. It started at the 4:47 mark when Dustin Penner chased the puck deep into the Coyotes end. He squeezed off Doan along the end boards, allowing Mike Richards to get the puck. As Richards began to cycle, Penner headed toward the front of the net and took a return pass. The puck deflected off Penner right out to Carter who sent a floating, end-over-end shot past Smith to double the margin.
With Phoenix already playing short-handed and less than five minutes left in the period, Daymond Langkow slashed Brownâs stick, drawing a delayed penalty. In the ensuing action, Lewis had the puck in the corner and turned his body as Doan was steaming in to hit him. The hit drove Lewisâ head into the dasher, drawing blood and ending Doanâs night.
As the Kings worked on an extended two-man advantage, Smith did all he could to keep the visitors at bay – even using his head to stop a shot. Seconds later, he found Brown standing in front of the crease and put a major-league slash on the back of Brownâs legs just below the knee. The officials not only tagged Smith for a minor but hit Brown as well for embellishing the play, making the calls matching.
The Kings essentially put the game away less than a minute later. Still on the five-on-three power play, Williams fed Kopitar who was playing the point at the time. Kopitar walked the puck to within 20 feet of the net, faking a defender down before lining up a shot. The puck glanced off the top of Carterâs left skate and into the back of the net to make it 3-0.
âWe certainly started better. I thought the first four or five minutes of the second period, we had four or five very good chances to score to get the game back to even but we werenât able to do that,â Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett said. âThey got that second one and (then) we put ourselves in a lot of penalty trouble.â
Phoenix still thought it had a chance to get back into the game as the final period began but Los Angeles had other ideas. The Coyotes had two power play chances early in the stanza but the Kings defense and penalty killers clamped down, keeping the home team from getting any shots let alone quality scoring chances. Even at five-on-five, Quick didnât see many shots and when he did, he was there to stop every one of them.
At the eleven minute mark of the period, Brown chased after the puck in the Phoenix end with Hanzal hot on his tail. As Brown hit the goal line, he started to break his speed but Hanzal did not. Hanzal drove Brown heavily into the boards, causing the Kings forward to whack his head on the glass. The play earned Hanzal the rest of the game off with a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct.
Less than two minutes later, Derek Morris took a penalty for kneeing, giving the Kings yet another five-on-three advantage. It took Los Angeles just 13 seconds to capitalize when Brown whistled a shot from the point that Smith kicked out. Unfortunately for Smith, Carter was standing right there to grab the rebound and bury it in the back of the net to complete his natural hat trick.
Game Notes: With the win, Los Angeles tied the league record for consecutive road wins in a playoff year. The last team to get to seven was the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks. They also tied the mark for consecutive road wins over consecutive years (nine) which was last done by the New York Islanders in 1982 and 1983…With the whitewashing, Quick dropped his playoff goals against average to 1.45 and raised his save percentage to .951. It was his second shutout of this playoff year⊠Smith played valiantly in the loss, making 36 savesâŠWith another perfect night, the Kings have now killed off the last 28 opposition power plays against themâŠThe contest marked Phoenix veteran forward Ray Whitneyâs 100th career playoff gameâŠGame three is set for Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles starting at 9 pm eastern. Game four will be played Sunday afternoon after the Lakers and Clippers use the building for a playoff double-header on Saturday.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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