Drew Doughty scored the go-ahead goal with
4:51 left, and Ryan Smyth scored twice, as the Los Angeles Kings overcame a
two-goal deficit to post a 5-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.
Smyth and Doughty each added an assist, while Anze Kopitar had a goal and two
helpers for Los Angeles, which snapped a two-game slide. The Kings lost in a
shootout to San Jose and Vancouver in their last two contests.
Jonathan Quick stopped 13 shots in the victory.
Shane Doan had a goal and assist for Phoenix, which had won three in a row.
Jason LaBarbera let in four goals on 26 shots in the setback.
"You've got a two-goal lead at home with almost the end of the second," Doan
said. "That's got to be a win. We dropped the ball."
Facing a 3-1 hole, the Kings began their comeback with Smyth's first goal, a
wraparound score, with 58 seconds left in the second period. Then, 6:44 into
the third, Justin Williams netted the equalizer.
Down the stretch of the third period, Doughty controlled a loose puck near the
point, held it as he skated backward to the middle of the ice and unleashed a
shot through traffic that beat LaBarbera high to the glove side.
"No one on their team really tried to block my shot, so I had a whole lane to
the net," Doughty said. "So I just put it where the goalie wasn't. Luckily it
didn't get blocked or hit a stick, and pretty fortunate to get it in."
Smyth added an empty-netter in the final minute to cement the win.
Kopitar's wrister with 4:01 left in the opening frame got LA on the board, but
Phoenix scored the next three goals, beginning with Doan's power-play tip-in
in the final second of the first period.
Martin Hanzal scored on a wrister 37 seconds into the second, and Scottie
Upshall made it a 3-1 contest at 14:44.
Game Notes
Kopitar moved into the NHL lead in points, as he has 11 goals and 13 assists.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who is week-to-week with an upper body injury, has
23 points...Phoenix plays at Colorado on Wednesday...LA hosts Pittsburgh on
Thursday.
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