Coyotes

The golf course officials who ordered the shooting of two innocent coyotes in Pasadena (May 22) admitted that those coyotes did not pose any threat to anyone nor did they kill any pets, which is the usual excuse to justify the destruction of coyotes. Their lives have been snuffed out just because they were coyotes. If a coyote is merely visible on a canyon road, where it is supposed to be, it is sufficient reason to trigger a hysteria and the coyote control agencies are eager to oblige by destroying the creatures.

Pluses When the Washington Capitals took the lead in the Southeast Division on Thursday and became the No. 3-ranked team in the East, it was the first time they held a playoff position this season. The Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets have faded and the Capitals have taken advantage by winning seven of their last 10 games. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tanner Glass was generous to give up his number, 10, to new teammate Brenden Morrow. Glass, who switched to 15, followed that with an even classier move: He said via Twitter any fans who had his jersey with his old number on the back could get it changed to 15 at the team store, "and I'll pay for the switch.

Re "Neighbors on coyote watch," Column, Sept. 4 Sandy Banks' column on watching out for the coyotes lurking in her Northridge neighborhood has some good suggestions but is a bit alarmist. Yes, people need to take precautions, as coyotes and unleashed dogs can be a real threat to our pets. But did you know rodent poisons are killing mountain lions as the poisons work up the food chain? Indeed, a neighbor's actions can be far more dangerous than a coyote. Hazing is a good way to keep coyotes afraid of us. Chances are high that when coyotes are bold, someone is feeding them.

AT PHOENIX When: 7 PDT. Where: Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Ariz. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 20-12-3; Coyotes 14-15-6. Record vs. Coyotes: 3-1. Update: Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin was chosen the NHL's rookie of the month for March. He had four goals, 11 points and a plus-10 defensive rating in 17 games.

Canada's Team stood between the Kings and a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals nearly two decades ago. Now, it's merely the NHL's team. The NHL has owned the Coyotes since 2009 when it pulled the franchise out of bankruptcy for about $140 million. A warning to the Kings' lively Twitter feed: Mocking the Coyotes is like tweaking the NHL. Do it at your own peril. (But primers on bankruptcy, debt ratings and the power of the Arizona watchdog group the Goldwater Institute are best saved for another time.)

Unwanted neighbors are vexing, but when they happen to be coyotes, eviction isn't always an option. Unlike bears that wander into neighborhoods, coyotes, by law, cannot be returned to a nearby wilderness. And they'll take a lushly landscaped block in Glendale, where residents reported a pack living in a burned-out house earlier this month, over the Angeles National Forest anyway. Coyotes thrive near humans, bedding down in bushes and feasting on garbage, low-hanging fruit, pet food left outside — and the small pets it's left for. Aggressive hunters, they can hop a fence and snatch up a small dog or cat and flee before a stunned owner can utter a word.

A man reported being attacked by a coyote in Griffith Park last week, wildlife officials said. The man, who was lying down near the Travel Town area Wednesday night, reported waking up to find a coyote biting his foot, but he was not seriously injured, said Kevin Brennan, a wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game. The attack was the second reported in less than a month in the 4,210-acre, chaparral-covered park. Wildlife authorities learned from Los Angeles County health officials last week that another person had been bitten in the park in late August.

It's 12:45 a.m. on a Sunday. I am reading in bed with the window open to hear the night sounds. The coyotes are yipping and calling as usual, but they sound closer tonight, much as they did 35 years ago. This was, and still is, their home and hunting ground, even if humans are crowding them out. The yipping becomes frenzied and suddenly mixed with the terrified yips of a dog. It's all over in about 20 seconds. Silence is profound; nothing disturbs the darkness. Other neighborhood dogs are quiet, safe behind their fences.

The coyote perched atop the cinder-block wall 25 feet across the lawn from Candy Julian's screen door, dangling its paws and eyeing her family's two miniature schnauzers. "We started screaming. My son grabbed a shovel," the 45-year-old fitness instructor said of her run-in with a coyote one evening late last month in her Yorba Linda backyard. "I was screaming 'The dogs! The dogs!' " Her family chased off the coyote. But some neighbors haven't been so lucky, losing cats and small dogs and fearing for their children's safety.

Reporting from Glendale, Ariz. -- The Kings' offense stirred Tuesday night for the first time in a while, but their turnovers and mistakes cost them a chance to win a crucial game in regulation and prevent a conference rival from earning a point. Ray Whitney and Mikkel Boedker scored for Phoenix in the shootout while only Dustin Brown was able to score on Mike Smith, giving the Coyotes a 5-4 victory at Jobing.com Arena. The Kings have won only one of their last six games but the point allowed them to pass Calgary and jump into eighth in the West.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - There was no anguish in the Kings' locker room after their 3-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday, no gnashing of their remaining teeth as they ended a five-game trip with a commendable 3-1-1 record. "We could have won every game. We played well enough to win every game," Coach Darryl Sutter said. "That's the way it goes. " The difference on Tuesday was a 39-save performance in goal from ex-King Jason LaBarbera, who was beaten only by a shot by Justin Williams that deflected off Phoenix defenseman Michael Stone at 12:12 of the second period.

Deja vu all over again? A quirk in the lockout-shortened NHL schedule matched the Kings, who defeated the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-0, on Monday at Staples Center, against the Coyotes again on Tuesday at the same arena. Of course, the Kings wouldn't mind the same outcome - and the same success they enjoyed on the power play in winning the opener of the two-game miniseries. The Kings converted two of six power-play chances on Monday to improve their recent run to seven for 17 over six games, a healthy 41.2 percent success rate.

A little bit déjà vu, a little bit Groundhog Day, the Kings' 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Tuesday had a distinctly familiar feel. And with good reason: Until the final minutes, it resembled the 4-0 rout the Kings had inflicted Monday against the hard-working but offensively inept Coyotes on the same ice. A few key details changed Tuesday as the Kings won their third straight game and 12th in the last 16 while improving to 12-2-1 at home. BOX SCORE: KINGS VS. COYOTES The physicality picked up and erupted in several scrums.

PHOENIX - If you blinked, you might have missed the first half of the NHL's painfully compact post-lockout schedule. If that's the case, know that, for the Kings, it went a little better than last season's first half. The team passed the halfway point Tuesday fourth in the Western Conference - three places better than last year - and riding a wave of momentum that had carried it to nine wins in 11 games. But then, just like last year, the Kings started the second half with a thud, plodding through a listless 5-2 loss to the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena.

You can cue up more than a few cringe-worthy clips on YouTube of Coyotes defenseman Rusty Klesla getting hit in the face last season. After one painful incident, he returned to action wearing a full cage, for extra protection. Klesla played for the Czech club HC Trinec during the lockout in the fall and, as required, wore a face shield and eventually adjusted to it. Klesla was talking the morning after a particularly scary injury to the right eye of the Rangers' Marc Staal, who was hit by a deflected puck.

DUCKS VS. PHOENIX When: 7. Where: Honda Center. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 830. Records: Ducks 15-3-3, Coyotes 11-8-3. Record vs. Coyotes: 0-0-2. Update: The teams conclude their series of three games in five days following two Coyotes shootout victories in Glendale, Ariz. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is tied for the Phoenix points lead (16) thanks to 13 assists. Center Martin Hanzal has a team-best seven goals.  

The Kings approached this season with hope, stability and a lineup that oozes promise at every position. The Phoenix Coyotes approached this season with Coach Dave Tippett in place for only a week, no clue about where they'll play next season and a hodgepodge lineup sprinkled with untried kids and retreads. The clueless team Saturday was the Kings, whose defense collapsed in a 6-3 season-opening loss before a stunned sellout crowd at Staples Center. "This is definitely not the start we wanted," Anze Kopitar said.

PHOENIX - The Ducks' charter flight was scheduled to leave the Arizona desert just before midnight Monday - or about three days too late for Coach Bruce Boudreau's liking. Because when the Ducks landed here last week, they had not lost consecutive games in more than 11 months, had given up more than three goals in regulation only once in three weeks and had not lost a game all season in which they scored more than twice. All three of those streaks had ended before the team boarded the bus for the airport after a second straight 5-4 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.

PHOENIX — In nearly four decades around professional hockey, Bruce Boudreau has seen a lot of strange things. But the coach can't remember seeing a team play consecutive games on the road in the same city during the regular season, something his division-leading Ducks will do Monday night when they meet the Phoenix Coyotes for the second time in three nights in Arizona. "I can't recall. In recent years anyway," Boudreau said. "But I'm getting old, so maybe my memory's getting old too. " Forward Bobby Ryan's memory is a lot fresher.