There was no third-period let down for the Los Angeles Kings. Instead, they locked down their place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a tremendous finish. Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar scored 40 seconds apart in the third period and the Kings clinched a playoff berth with a 4-0 win against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Wednesday night. It marks the fifth straight postseason appearance for Los Angeles, which last accomplished the feat from 1987-93. But there was no celebratory acknowledgement from the 2012 Cup champions.
"I think we've [added to] the evolution of
this team," captain Dustin
Brown said. "Maybe four or five years ago this was a big
deal. Now, this is just part of the process. There's nothing to
celebrate about making the playoffs. That's not a goal, it's an
expectation."
The Kings were coming off a blown third-period
lead Monday against the Minnesota Wild, the second time this season
they had lost when leading after two periods. The other came March
17, when Phoenix rallied from a 2-1 deficit. Leading 2-0 going into
the third, Carter beat Coyotes goalie Thomas
Greiss with a wicked wrist shot from the left side at 9:10 for
his 27th goal. Kopitar got his 25th goal at 9:50 when he hammered
home Marian
Gaborik's pass on the power play. At the other end, the Kings
allowed five shots in the third period en route to their 12th shutout
of the season, a new franchise record.
"The last time we owed them one,"
defenseman Alec
Martinez said. "That was the focus we took going into the
third. I said it last game: We didn't play a full 60 minutes. I think
we did that tonight. We were making plays. I think it's important in
the third, especially with a lead … you've got to keep making plays
and pushing the pace. You can't just sit on a lead anymore,
especially in the West, and at this time of the year."
Phoenix was trying to jump over the Dallas Stars
for the second wild-card spot, but again generated little offense in
a desperation game. The Coyotes' 17 shots on goal were a season-low.
Phoenix has scored two goals in its past three games.
"I thought they just played a better game
tonight," Coyotes forward Martin
Hanzal said. "They out-competed us, outhit us, outplay us
today. It was simple as that. We have five games left. We are still
not in the playoffs right now. We all know how important these points
are. We have to make sure we win the rest and get in."
Defenseman Drew
Doughty had one of his finer offensive games this season and
goalie Jonathan
Quick recorded a 17-save shutout for Los Angeles, which will play
at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday in a likely preview of the Western
Conference First Round series. Doughty capped crisp passing and
execution on the power play for a 2-0 lead. Doughty set up in the
left circle for Martinez's pass, stopped the puck and wristed it in
at 2:27 for his 10th goal and second in 19 games. The Coyotes showed
little fight through two periods and put nine shots on goal through
32 minutes. They would have trailed 3-0 going into the third period,
but Greiss made a breakaway stop on Carter just before the buzzer.
Tanner Pearson
gave the Kings a 1-0 lead 1:20 into the game. After he rushed back to
get onside, Pearson drove the right wing and kneeled down to one time
Carter's cross-ice pass. It was Pearson's third goal this season; two
have come against Phoenix.
"We gave up a goal early, got chasing the
game right from the beginning," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett
said. "That probably wasn't the ideal circumstances to put
ourselves in."
The Kings came out solid defensively, clogged the
shooting lanes and allowed five harmless shots by the Coyotes in the
opening period.
"They did a good job of blocking us out
and keeping us from getting in the zone," Phoenix defenseman
Keith Yandle
said. "On their penalty kill and our power play, we didn't do
a good enough job to get pucks to the net."
Los Angeles is one win short of matching the team
record of 46, set in 1990-91. It was the franchise's 1,500th
regular-season win.
No comments:
Post a Comment