LOS ANGELES – With an opportunity to send the Coyotes home for good, the Los Angeles Kings came out flat in the first period and permitted the Phoenix Coyotes to get up off the mat and take a 2-0 win at the Staples Center.
Shane Doan played like he did not want to see his club swept in this conference final series.
Doan, the Coyotes captain, scored twice including a nifty backhand on the power play that beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick under the arm for the early lead.
That goal spurred the Coyotes to a solid effort. But it also seemed to define the Kings effort the entire day, listless and flat.
Doan’s effort was matched by the stellar goaltending of Mike Smith in the Phoenix net. Smith stopped 36 shots on the afternoon and found himself in a groove early in the contest.
“I knew it had to be my best game of the series,” Smith said after the game.
For Doan, his first goal was his first marker in five games and fourth overall in the post season.
That first goal was a result of the force of will of the Phoenix captain. It was reported that Doan was “livid” after the game their game three loss in Los Angeles earlier in the week.
“No one on this excited about being down three nothing,” Doan said in the post game conference.
“I don’t know if we like adversity but we’ve dealt with it this season and it has made us stronger,” Smith said of the Coyotes’ play in coming from behind all season.
“It was a huge effort from Doaner and everyone today,” Smith added.
“Everyone wants to prove they can answer that call,” Doan said of trying to come back from the now 3-1 deficit.
Asked if his team gave a full 60 minutes on the ice Sunday, Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett said, “ That’s the best we’ve seen in this series, that’s for sure. We ended up getting the lead. I thought we competed a lot harder and a lot more battles. When you do those things, you give yourself a better chance to win.”
“Smith was excellent,” Tippett added. “Our penalty killing was excellent. We kind of ground out a win.”
Tippett was also thankful for the early lead in the game.
“Well, I think if you’ve seen the way our team has played, not just in the playoffs but all year, a lead is valuable for us,” Tippett described. “It’s just one of the traits of our team, probably like a lot of teams in the league, you get a lead, you feel you can push the game along. That’s exactly what happened tonight. Like I say, our penalty killing was excellent when called on, Smith was excellent. Our guys competed hard. Little things that make the game move ahead for you. We live for another day.”
That early lead was also responsible for the Coyotes dictating the rhythm of play in game four.
“Yeah. Part of it is getting a lead and part of it is I just think we had more people jump harder into the battle tonight. When that happens, you can find some more successes. The big success of winning is all about what you do to get the win. I didn’t think we were working hard enough in some battles in key areas,” Tippett said. ”Tonight we were better in those areas. We got a couple goals. We made them stand up.”
Tippett was pleased and possibly relived for Doan’s effort on the ice.
“Two goals. But you don’t see all the things that happened behind the scenes in the dressing room, inspiration for the guys there, how much he cares about this team and winning,” Tippett said. “When you can do that behind-the-scenes stuff, bag it up with the on-the-ice stuff, it speaks volumes for who he is. We don’t have to sit here and talk about Shane Doan. Our players know, the league knows how strong-willed a guy he is. He went into this game thinking, We don’t want to be swept. That was the effort he put forth. Great to see.”
For Kings head coach Darryl Sutter the issue is facing the Coyotes on their home ice.
“You got to win four games, right? They’re a home-ice team,” Sutter said. “They finished ahead of us for a good reason, right? There’s not much difference in the team.”
“I said to you guys who aren’t used to covering hockey, watching playoffs a lot, the most important part of the playoffs are goaltending, special teams, how your top players play,” Sutter added. “So just do it, right?”
Perhaps a bit displeased with hitting the road again Sutter was circumspect.
“You got to win four games. Do I like going back on the road tomorrow? No, absolutely not. But that’s the way it works. That’s why it’s four out of seven. Did we think as not a home-ice team we weren’t ever going to lose a game? No, it’s that simple. You’re supposed to play 28 games, not 12 or 13, 4 or 5. That’s what it is, right?”
Happy or not, TIppett’s Kings now return to Phoenix to face the Coyotes on their home ice.
The kings will try to end it Tuesday and the Coyotes will look to fight at least one more day and force the Kings back to LA later in the week.
