Mike Smith stopped 36 shots and the Phoenix Coyotes avoided the sweep with a 2-0 victory over the Kings Sunday in Los Angeles.
A few points to consider in the comments section:
--- The Coyotes looked like dead men walking in the first period, but they survived two early L.A. man advantages, then all of a sudden Shane Doan snuck a power-play goal by Jonathan Quick at 14:19.
--- The goaltender interference minor Justin Williams took to put Phoenix on the aforementioned power play wasn’t the most blatant infraction you’ll ever see.
--- L.A.’s power play failed to convert again today, marking their ninth oh-for of the playoffs. The 2011 Boston Bruins don’t think it’s a big deal though.
--- This was the second time the Kings failed to sweep a team in the postseason. They lost Game 4 of their first-round series versus Vancouver before winning Game 5 on the road.
--- Could today’s loss end up a blessing in disguise for the Kings? They’ve had a ton of down time already and another long layoff might not be optimal. This theory becomes null and void if they lose Tuesday or suffer a key injury.
--- The Staples Center is now 0-3 on the weekend, and will move to 0-4 if the Spurs beat the Clippers tonight. (Which they probably will.)
--- Plenty of budget-friendly tickets to Game 5 Tuesday at Jobing.com Arena. Starting at $31 on StubHub.com.