Kings win West with goal in OT
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 4 months AGO
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Dustin Penner scored 17:42 into overtime and the Los Angeles Kings are headed to the Stanley Cup finals for the second time as a franchise after beating the Phoenix Coyotes with a 4-3 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.
Penner gathered a bouncing puck and beat Mike Smith between the pads for the game-winner, extending the Kings' road winning streak to an NHL-record eight straight games. Anze Kopitar scored a short-handed goal, Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist, and Mike Richards also scored for Los Angeles.
"I got a lucky bounce," Penner said. "I just waited for it to settle down, and I got a chance to get it in the net."
The first team to go undefeated on the road en route to the Stanley Cup finals, the Kings will play Game 1 on May 30 at either New Jersey or New York.
Los Angeles is in the final round for the first time since 1993, when Wayne Gretzky and the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in their only finals appearance.
Taylor Pyatt had a goal and an assist, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Keith Yandle also scored for the Coyotes in their first trip to the Western Conference finals.