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LOS ANGELES -- There was no third-period letdown for the Los Angeles Kings. Instead, they locked down their place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a tremendous finish.
Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar scored 40 seconds apart in the third period and the Kings clinched a playoff berth with a 4-0 win against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Wednesday night.
Defenseman Drew Doughty had one of his finer offensive games this season and goalie Jonathan Quick recorded a 17-save shutout for Los Angeles, which will play at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday in a likely preview of the Western Conference First Round series.
The Kings were coming off a blown third-period lead Monday against the Minnesota Wild, the second time this season they had lost when leading after two periods. The other came March 17, when Phoenix rallied from a 2-1 deficit.
Leading 2-0 going into the third, Carter beat Coyotes goalie Thomas Greiss with a wicked wrist shot from the left side at 9:10 for his 27th goal. Kopitar got his 25th goal at 9:50 when he hammered home Marian Gaborik's pass.
Phoenix was trying to jump over the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot, but again generated little offense in a desperation game. The Coyotes' 17 shots on goal were a season low, and five came in the third period. Phoenix has scored two goals in its past three games.
Doughty capped crisp passing and execution on the power play for a 2-0 lead. Doughty set up in the left circle for Alec Martinez's pass, stopped the puck and wristed it in at 2:27 for his 10th goal and second in 19 games.
The Coyotes showed little fight through two periods and put nine shots on goal through 32 minutes. They would have trailed 3-0 going into the third period, but Greiss made a breakaway stop on Carter just before the buzzer.
Tanner Pearson gave the Kings a 1-0 lead 1:20 into the game. After he rushed back to get on side, Pearson drove the right wing and kneeled down to one-time Carter's cross-ice pass. It was Pearson's third goal this season; two have come against Phoenix.
The Kings came out solid defensively, clogged the shooting lanes and allowed five harmless shots in the opening period.
Los Angeles is one win short of matching the team record of 46, set in 1990-91.
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