Phoenix Coyotes

AT PHOENIX Time: 7. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830. Where: Jobing.com Arena. Records: Ducks 33-31-6, Coyotes 29-35-6. Record vs. Coyotes: 2-1. Update: At least two Ducks won't mind heading out on the road -- Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan, who have combined to score 27 of their 45 goals away from home. Four of the Ducks' next six games are against Phoenix and Colorado -- the only two teams that are, for all practical purposes, out of Western Conference playoff contention.

DUCKS AT VANCOUVER When: 7 PDT. Where: Rogers Center. On the air: TV: KDOC; Radio: 830. Record vs. Canucks: 1-1. Update: The Ducks, with the No. 2 Western Conference seed clinched, play their final regular-season road game where their season began. Vancouver, with the No. 3 seed clinched, will not have starting goaltender Cory Schneider because of an unspecified injury. Schneider is 17-9-4. With rest due to key players before the playoffs, the Ducks summoned right wing Devante Smith-Pelly, goaltender Frederik Andersen and left wing Patrick Maroon from minor league Norfolk.

Game 1: Tonight at the Pond Time: 7:30 Television: Fox Sports West and Fox Sports West 2 * Game 2: Friday at the Pond Time: 7:30 p.m. Television: Fox Sports West, Fox Sports West 2 * Game 3: Sunday at Phoenix Time: Noon Television: KTTV Channel 11 * Game 4: Tuesday at Phoenix Time: 7:30 p.m. Television: KCAL Channel 9 * Game 5: April 24 at the Pond Time: 7:30 p.m.

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.

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.

Another potential buyer has surfaced for the Phoenix Coyotes, one that would keep the team in Glendale, Ariz. An attorney for Las Vegas-based businessman John Breslow, who owns 3% of the Coyotes, said Wednesday that Breslow told the NHL he has formed a group interested in submitting a bid for the team. Attorney Scott Cohen declined to comment on reports that Breslow's group includes hockey great and Coyotes Coach Wayne Gretzky.

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.

PHOENIX - By squeezing a 48-game schedule into 98 days, the NHL effectively erased the idea of a day off this season. Which is just fine with Ducks center Andrew Cogliano, who hasn't taken a day off since making his NHL debut seven years and 430 games ago. But that doesn't mean Cogliano and his teammates don't get tired. And they were exhausted Saturday when, playing their second game in 22 hours and fifth in a week, the Ducks wasted Cogliano's second career hat trick, twice giving up third-period leads before losing to the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-4, in a shootout.

The Kings have substantially rewritten their postseason record book this spring. Now, they're poised to put a serious dent in the NHL's record book. A victory over the Phoenix Coyotes today at Staples Center would give the Kings a berth in the Stanley Cup finals with a 12-1 record, the fewest games any finalist will have played since the NHL expanded the first round to a best-of-seven format in the 1987 playoffs. The quickest route has been 14 games, taken several times, most recently by the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Dustin Penner sent the Kings into the Stanley Cup finals and sent Phoenix fans into a tizzy. Penner chipped in a rebound with 2 minutes 18 seconds left in overtime giving the Kings a 4-3 victory at Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday. The victory sent puts the Kings in the finals for the second time in franchise history. Jeff Carter swooped in on net, but goaltender Mike Smith turned away his shot. The puck bounced to Penner, who put the shot between Smith's legs.

Like the NHL season, the annual deadline-day trading frenzy was late in starting. But a flurry of deals in the hour before Wednesday's noon Pacific time cutoff changed the complexion of several teams and added depth to others hoping for long playoff runs. The Ducks, seeking strength up the middle, acquired veteran center Matthew Lombardi from the Phoenix Coyotes for left wing Brandon McMillan. They also traded goalie Jeff Deslauriers to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.

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.

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 - 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.

PHOENIX - By squeezing a 48-game schedule into 98 days, the NHL effectively erased the idea of a day off this season. Which is just fine with Ducks center Andrew Cogliano, who hasn't taken a day off since making his NHL debut seven years and 430 games ago. But that doesn't mean Cogliano and his teammates don't get tired. And they were exhausted Saturday when, playing their second game in 22 hours and fifth in a week, the Ducks wasted Cogliano's second career hat trick, twice giving up third-period leads before losing to the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-4, in a shootout.

It would be darn near impossible to find a hockey fan in Slovenia who isn't rooting for the Kings. Call it the Anze Kopitar factor. "There is actually a pretty big buzz back there," said Kopitar, the Kings' 24-year-old center. "I've been going on online and reading some of the news from back there. The Kings are pretty big. " And Kopitar? "There's a little more focus on me," Kopitar said. "It's nice for hockey to get a little attention back home. " With the Kings set to play the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final, expect more local-boy-makes-good stories in the country of 2 million people.

Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi had strong words on Friday about the behavior of some of the Phoenix Coyotes players, condemning the post-game actions of goalie Mike Smith, who threw his stick toward an official and later lashed out at the officiating. Lombardi asserted that Smith incited the crowd at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz., after the Kings beat the Coyotes, 4-3, in overtime in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. He referenced European soccer and the rules governing the actions of the players in terms of inciting the crowd.