Doughty scores late, leads Kings to 5-3 win over Coyotes

Doughty leads Kings to 5-3 win over Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Drew Doughty scored the go-ahead goal with 4:51 remaining and the Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat the Phoenix Coyotes 5-3 Monday night.

Ryan Smyth scored twice, Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists, and Justin Williams also scored for the Kings, who won for the first time in five games this season when trailing after two periods. Los Angeles snapped a two-game losing streak.

Shane Doan, Martin Hanzal and Scottie Upshall scored for the Coyotes, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped but received better news off the ice.

Earlier Monday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum approved the Coyotes’ sale to the NHL with the league intending to find a buyer committed to keeping the franchise in Glendale. The conclusion of the team’s bankruptcy proceedings didn’t help the Coyotes avoid a franchise-record low announced crowd of 5,855.

Upshall had given Phoenix a 3-1 at 14:44 of the second period, taking a backhand pass from Robert Lang and sliding the puck between Quick’s pads.

But then the Kings stormed back for their first win in three games against the Coyotes.

Smyth pulled the Kings to 3-2, taking a shot from the right side that trickled under Jason LaBarbera and along the goal line and then skating around the back of the and tapping the puck into the open left side.

Williams, playing his first game after missing the past five with a lower-body injury, tied the game 3-all with 13:16 remaining on a backhand shot just inside the left post.

Doughty capped the rally comeback on a blast from the high slot off a pass from Wayne Simmonds.

Smyth added an empty-netter with 39 seconds to go.

Kopitar gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 15:59 of the first period, taking advantage of a partial screen by Smyth to beat LaBarbera from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

Doan tied the game with 1.7 seconds left in the period, tipping Ed Jovanovski’s shot over Jonathan Quick’s right shoulder for a power-play goal.

Phoenix extended its lead to 2-1 just 37 seconds into the second when Doan looped a pass off the outstretched glove of defenseman Jack Johnson and onto the stick of Hanzal, who scored on a quick wrist shot from the left circle.

NOTES: Los Angeles had not won after trailing after two periods since a 3-2 win at Boston on March 19. The Kings are the only team to score three or more goals against the Coyotes. The Coyotes have set franchise record-low attendance marks in each of their past two games. There were 6,495 at Jobing.Com Arena for Phoenix’s 3-2 shootout win over Anaheim on Saturday. Phoenix RW Peter Mueller was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Upshall’s goal was the 50th of his career. Doan moved within two goals of Thomas Steen for third place on the franchise career list with 262. He has 26 goals and 61 assists in 73 career games against the Kings.