The Los Angeles Kings booked their place in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in almost 20 years Tuesday after wrapping up the NHL Western Conference title with a 4-3 overtime win over the Phoenix Coyotes in Game Five. It will be only the second time the Kings will play for the Cup. The previous occasion was in 1993 when they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. The Kings had scraped into the playoffs as the eighth-ranked team in the West but took down the top seeds one-by-one, first top ranked Vancouver (4-1), then second seeds St. Louis (4-0) and now the Coyotes (4-1). The teams were tied 1-1 at the first intermission Tuesday after Taylor Pratt scored on a power play for the Coyotes and Anze Kopitar replied with a short-handed goal for Los Angeles. Both teams scored twice in the second period with Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Keith Yandle netting for Phoenix, while Drew Doughty and Mike Richards scored for the Kings. There were no goals in the third period but Dustin Penner sealed the Kings' win when he scored after nearly 18 minutes of overtime. The Kings will play the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. That series is tied at 2-2.
