Coyotes 2 - 3 Kings
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Kings reach playoffs with SO win over Coyotes

Apr 7, 2011 - 6:50 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Jarret Stoll scored the winner in the shootout and the Los Angeles Kings punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Coming into the contest, the winner of the game would become the fourth team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot.

Stoll scored in the second round with a wrister off the right corner post, his eighth straight goal on a shootout attempt, to give Los Angeles a two-goal lead in the shootout, but Radim Vrbata waited out Jonathan Quick to keep Phoenix alive.

After Dustin Brown banged a low shot off the right post, Quick made a blocker save on Lauri Korpikoski for the win.

"It's a win that you want to have and that's a hard game to win," said Los Angeles head coach Terry Murray. "The guys stepped up. It was a fun game to coach tonight."

Kyle Clifford and Stoll each had a goal for the Kings, who have made it to the postseason for the second straight year and currently sit in the fourth spot in the Western Conference with 98 points, one ahead of Nashville and Phoenix. All three teams have two games to play.

Quick, who is 10-0 in shootouts this year, stopped 33 shots for the win.

Lee Stempniak and Taylor Pyatt each had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who have dropped three of four. Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 stops in the loss.

"When the games are really important and everything's on the line, that's when you want to be out there and playing your best. I think it's good to get into that mindset," Stempniak said.

Stoll scored with 7:39 to play in the first as Brown skated down the right wing, made a nifty move to get around the defender and get a shot on net with Stoll cleaning up the rebound for his 20th goal of the season.

Stempniak tied the game on a one-timer from the slot with six minutes left in the first, and the Coyotes took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission when Pyatt put home a rebound from in front with 2:02 left in the frame.

Clifford tied the game with just under three minutes to play in the second as he tipped home a Wayne Simmonds pass for his seventh goal of the season.

Quick stopped 13 shots over the third and overtime while Bryzgalov made 12 saves over that time to force the shootout.

Game Notes

The Kings play at Anaheim on Friday...The Coyotes host San Jose on Friday...Each team won three times in the season series, but Phoenix grabbed one more point due to Wednesday's shootout loss.






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