After wrapping a successful five-game homestand, the Los Angeles Kings will take to the road Tuesday to battle the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena.
Tuesday's test marks the second of five scheduled meetings this season between these Pacific rivals. L.A. recorded a 4-2 win at Phoenix on Jan. 26, giving the Kings wins in seven of the last 10 encounters. That does not include last year's playoff encounter in the Western Conference finals, which the Coyotes lost in five games.
Phoenix has five wins in its last eight home games against the Kings in the regular season.
The Kings went 4-1-0 on their recent homestand and ended the residency with consecutive wins against the Calgary Flames. L.A. slammed the Flames by a 6-2 score on Saturday and then notched a 3-1 victory in Monday's meeting at the Staples Center.
Captain Dustin Brown potted a pair of goals in the victory, while Jarret Stoll scored once and Jake Muzzin added two assists. Jonathan Quick stopped 23-of-24 shots for the Kings.
"That early power play goal sparked us," Brown said. "They pushed us in the third period, but we weathered the storm with big saves by Quick."
The Kings will play two straight on the road before returning to L.A. for another five-game homestand. Next up for the team is a home-and-home series with the San Jose Sharks, who will host Los Angeles on Thursday before visiting the Kings on Saturday.
The Coyotes, who are tied with St. Louis for the last two playoff spots out West, ended a two-game slide on Saturday with a 2-1 regulation win against visiting Dallas. Mike Smith posted 20 saves for Phoenix and Rob Klinkhammer notched the game-winner with his first NHL goal.
Phoenix made it a 2-0 game 7:31 into the second period when Klinkhammer took a pass from Boyd Gordon and fired into an open net.
"That was great to get," said Klinkhammer. "You know I'm just trying to score a goal and help the team win, this one being the game-winner makes it even sweeter."
Dallas would cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the second on a goal by Jaromir Jagr, but Smith needed to stop just three shots in the third to make the lead hold up.
Shane Doan also scored a goal for the Coyotes, who have won three of five games to begin the month of March.
The Coyotes are 1-1 on their current three-game homestand and are 9-5-1 in the desert this season.
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