COYOTES 5, KINGS 4 (SO): Ray Whitney and Mikkel Boedker scored in the shootout as host Phoenix overcame a 3-0 deficit to move into a first-place tie with the San Jose Sharks.
Whitney opened the shootout with a goal and Dustin Brown briefly leveled it in the second round. Boedker then used a backhand to beat Jonathan Quick before Jack Johnson’s attempt sailed wide right.
Radim Vrbata had two goals and an assist and Shane Doan scored twice to help Phoenix win its sixth in a row at home and improve to 8-0-1 overall in February.
Vrbata leveled the score with 2:27 left in regulation on the Coyotes’ third power-play goal of the night with his team-best 30th of the season. Vrbata has seven goals and five assists his past nine games.
The scoring-challenged Kings, who were coming off back-to-back shutouts, exploded for three goals in the first 15 minutes. Drew Doughty, Andrei Loktionov and Brown all got in the scoring act against goaltender Mike Smith.
The Coyotes clawed their way back in the second, taking advantage of penalties for a pair of power-play goals. Vrbata scored 50 seconds into the frame and Doan followed suit five minutes later with a wrist shot from close range to cut it to 3-2.
Williams converted a power-play tally of his own midway through the second before Doan was at it again, scoring from nearly the same spot to make it a one-goal contest.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kings forward Jarret Stoll returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury. … Los Angeles forward Kyle Clifford was sent to the locker room with a five-minute major for crosschecking Keith Yandle midway through the third, leading to Vrbata’s tying goal. … Smith is unbeaten in his last eight starts.
Upcoming Games – The Coyotes will play Vancouver which was rescheduled from 02/13/2012 at the Jobing.com Arena.
The Los Angeles Kings will face the Chicago Blackhawks on Sat Jan 25th at the Staples Center. Tickets for the Blackhawks Vs Kings are onsale now.
