Round 3, Game 5: Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes

The Los Angeles Kings geared up to face game 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes and hopefully put themselves into the Stanley Cup finals. The Kings didn’t get off to the start they had hoped and just 4:20 into the 1st period, Taylor Pyatt scored with a slap shot from the top of the circles, which gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. At the 11:13 mark of the 1st, Anze Kopitar scored on a deflection off a shot from Drew Doughty, a shorthanded goal which greatly increased the Kings momentum, which was close to nil. At the 6:23 mark of the 2nd period, Marc-Antoine Pouliot scored during a scramble in front of the net, 2-1 Phoenix. Only 5 minutes later, Drew Doughty scored with a wrist shot from the blue line, which somehow found its way past Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith. The Kings continued to battle, and only 2 minutes later, Mike Richards scored on a rebound of a 2 on 1, which gave the Kings a 3-2 lead and their first of the game. However, 16:23 into the 2nd period, Keith Yandle scored off a pass that went in off of his shins during an odd man rush, which tied the game at 3 a piece. The game continued through the 3rd period scoreless, and nearly through all of the first overtime without a goal. However, with 2:18 remaining in the overtime, Dustin Penner scored top shelf on a rebound, which gave the Kings a 4-3 win. The Kings managed to win the Campbell Conference trophy which is awarded to the champion of the Western Conference, for only the second time in the Kings 44 year history. The Kings will face either the New Jersey Devils or the New York Rangers in the 2012 Stanley Cup finals.