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Kings back on the road to face Phoenix

Oct 20, 2011 - 3:11 PM (Sports Network) - The Kings had to wait a long time before they got to enjoy their Staples Center opener and they didn't waste a chance to shine in front of their fans.

Los Angeles, though, is right back on the road as it goes for a third straight victory this evening against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Kings opened the season with a pair of games in Europe before playing twice on the East Coast. They survived the long trek with a 2-1-1 record before finally arriving home to face the Blues on Tuesday.

Los Angeles certainly didn't appear to have tired legs as they got a pair of goals and an assist from Simon Gagne and 27 saves by Jonathan Quick in a 5-0 victory.

"It's what we wanted. The first game at home in front of your fans," Gagne said. "We want to show what type of team we are and it's good to get the first win and get a lot of goals for the fans. It's always fun to go to a hockey game and see some goals. Overall we did play a good game as a team."

Quick posted his 15th career shutout as the Kings won their second in a row despite missing No. 1 defenseman Drew Doughty because of an upper body injury suffered on Saturday in Philadelphia. Blueliner Slava Voynov made his NHL debut in Doughty's place.

Jarret Stoll, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist, with Kopitar now logging four goals and five helpers over his first five games. Justin Williams also has a point in each of Los Angeles' first five contests and recorded two assists on Tuesday.

Overall, nine players posted at least one point in Tuesday's win, something that pleased head coach Terry Murray.

"It's good to spread the scoring around. It's good to see some guys starting to score," Murray said. "There was a little bit better shot mentality on the game, although the number wasn't that high at the end of the day for shots on goal, but we weren't looking for other options. We were able to get pucks to the net, and to me that's a real positive."

Phoenix failed in its attempt to record a third straight win on Tuesday, falling 5-2 to Chicago. The Coyotes were coming off an emotional win over the Jets on Saturday, but had trouble staying with the more talented Blackhawks and have split the first two contests of a three-game homestand.

"That wasn't what I expected out of our group," said Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett. "Our execution was poor. Some of that was the tempo that Chicago played at and a lack of tempo we played at. That wasn't the game I was looking for out of our guys."

Taylor Pyatt and Ray Whitney scored for Phoenix, which was outshot by a 35-16 margin. Chicago has 17 shots by the end of the second period.

A busy Jason LaBarbera managed to make 30 saves.

"We need to get more shots to the net," said Phoenix forward Shane Doan. "I don't know what the shots finished but it wasn't very good in the first two periods. We just have to be better. We have to get the pucks to the net. We joke about pucks and people to the net, but that's what makes us good. That's how we got our goals."

The Coyotes posted a slight 3-2-1 edge in last year's season series with the Kings and have won three of the last four at home, scoring 16 goals in that span.