Kings rally, then fall short

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Shane Doan knows the Phoenix Coyotes were fortunate to come away with a win over the Kings.

Radim Vrbata scored a power-play goal with 7 minutes 6 seconds to play and the Coyotes rallied after squandering a two-goal lead to beat the Kings, 4-3, on Saturday night.

“We have to find a way to play the whole 60 minutes,” Doan said. “We kind of dropped the ball in the beginning of the third period and that’s unacceptable.”

Ed Jovanovski had a goal and two assists, and Joel Perrault and Daniel Winnik also scored for the Coyotes, who blew a two-goal lead over the first 8:38 of the third period before pulling out their second straight win.

Raitis Ivanans, Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov scored for the Kings, who have lost two of three.

The Coyotes were unable to score during a minute-long two-man advantage. But Vrbata took a pass from Jovanovski near the end of the second Kings penalty and beat Jason LaBarbera from the right faceoff circle to end a 3-3 tie.

“It was a tight game and we had an opportunity there with the power play five on three,” Vrbata said. “It took a little longer than we would have liked to score that goal but I’m just glad we did.”

The Kings rallied from a 3-1 deficit after two periods. Phoenix left wing Daniel Carcillo received an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty as he left the ice for the second intermission and the Kings capitalized 37 seconds into the power play when Brown put a short wrist shot past goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.

Frolov tied the score at 8:38 of the third period on a rebound from the low slot after a scramble in front of the net.

“In order to win in these types of games when the stakes get a little bit higher, you have to make sure you’re ready to battle, ready to compete, finish checks and pay the price in front of the net,” Kings Coach Marc Crawford said.

Dan Cloutier, making his second start in goal since a Feb. 7 recall from the minors, stopped 18 of 21 shots over the first two periods before leaving with what Crawford termed “flu-like symptoms.”

“He almost passed out walking out to the rink,” Crawford said. “It was tough for Dan. I thought Dan played pretty well.”