Phoenix Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
The Phoenix Coyotes have had a magical run in the 2012 playoffs but defeat is now inevitable. They’ve tried virtually everything against the Los Angeles Kings in an effort to mount some kind of an offense but they haven’t been able to put any type of pressure on goaltender Jonathan Quick. All that’s left to determine is whether the Coyotes get swept or somehow save their pride and steal a game.
When it comes to measuring the teams, the Coyotes have had no shot in this series. They can’t score, they can’t stop the Kings from scoring and they can barely keep possession of the puck. That’s been blatantly clear to anyone who has watched the first three games. But will the Kings let up?
The Kings swept the St. Louis Blues in Round 2 but did lose to Vancouver in Game 4 of Round 1, which still stands as their only playoff loss to date. At least from a distance, it appears the Kings learned their lesson from Round 1 when they did things the hard way and were forced to fly back to Vancouver for Game 5. They were more focused for Game 4 against St. Louis and took care of business. That’s likely the same case against Phoenix.
In these types of situations – where the underdog has fallen behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series – the trailing team usually throws everything but the kitchen sink at their opponent in hopes of preventing the sweep. The problem is that the Coyotes have already tried that tactic and they’ve come back with nothing. They’ve scored a total of three goals through three games and two of them were fluky. They were supposed to have desperation on their side in Game 3 but managed just eight shots total in the final two periods.
Unless the Coyotes manage to get a couple of more lucky bounces and somehow keep the Kings off the board, they’re not going to win. That’s possible, but what’s closer to the reality is that the Kings suffocating play continues, the Coyotes fall behind and Game 4 plays out like the other three.
NHL Picks: Kings ---
As far as the total is concerned for this contest, the UNDER has to be the play. The absolute only way the Coyotes can win this game is if their defense plays sharp and Mike Smith stands on his head. The Coyotes accomplished that in Game 3 as they only gave up two goals and 28 shots – both series-lows. Phoenix knows that if they give up even two goals, they’re likely finished.
The game plan for the Coyotes is going to be back-to-front: take care of their own zone first and then focus on offense. They simply can’t afford to fall behind given how pitiful they’ve been.
Overall, this total is more about Phoenix’s defense than it is their offense. They’ve scored just three goals this series and two of them were very lucky, so it’s pretty clear that they’re not going to get over the two-goal mark – if they can even get to that. So if their defense holds up as it did in Game 2, then the UNDER should be in good shape.
NHL Picks: UNDER +++
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