NHL Playoffs 2012: Kings Beat Coyotes in OT to Advance to Stanley Cup Finals

Supposedly, there is no place like home.

Don't tell the Los Angeles Kings that.

Dustin Penner put home a rebound off a Jeff Carter shot at 17:42 of overtime to lift the Kings to a 4-3 win over a game Phoenix Coyotes squad and send them back to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1993.

The Kings became just the second No. 8 seed to ever reach the Stanley Cup finals. They will now try and do what the 2005-2006 Edmonton Oilers fell just short of doing—winning it all.

Penner's score came just seconds after Kings captain Dustin Brown collided with Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival just over the L.A. blue line. Many felt the hit was of the knee-to-knee variety and warranted a penalty. Others felt it was a clean hit.

Rozsival had to be helped off the ice, and roughly twelve seconds later, the Kings were celebrating a Western Conference championship. It was the Kings' eighth-straight road win of these playoffs and a record 10th-consecutive playoff win away from home carrying into last year's first-round exit to San Jose.

The somewhat controversial ending made the traditional post series handshakes very testy, and Coyotes captain Shane Doan was visibly angry with Brown as the two captains came together in their respective lines.

If not for Jonathan Quick's play in the first period, it is unlikely an overtime would have been necessary. It is also quite likely that the series would be heading back to Los Angeles for a Game 6.

The Coyotes came out on fire, got a power play goal from Taylor Pyatt at 4:20 of the first period, and were all over the Kings. Some great saves from Quick were the only reason the Kings remained in the game.

About midway through the first period, the Kings got caught for having too many men on the ice, and the Coyotes went on the power play looking to extend their lead.

Instead, Anze Kopitar scored a shorthanded goal to change the momentum of the game dramatically.

The Kings seemed to recapture their form from earlier in the series and they put a lot of pressure on Mike Smith.

Undaunted, the Coyotes would recapture the lead on a goal from Marc-Antoine Pouliot.

But, as has been the case throughout the playoffs, the Kings would answer quickly, as Drew Doughty tied the game less than five minutes later.

About two-and-a-half minutes later, Mike Richards put the Kings ahead (on a goal he actually scored twice) and Los Angeles knew it was close.

Not close enough, though, as Keith Yandle tied the game, scoring his first goal of the playoffs on a play that looked as though the puck might have been kicked into the goal. The play was reviewed, though, and the goal stood.

Tied at 3-3, both teams had chances to win in the third period. Phoenix had the better opportunities, including a 5-on-3 power play, and out-shot the Kings (a rarity in the series), but Quick solidified his bid for a Conn Smythe trophy by turning aside the Coyotes time and again.

The Kings then seemed to recapture the momentum in overtime, and there were several moments where it seemed the series-clinching goal was inevitable. Mike Smith would have none of it however.

With just over nine minutes remaining in overtime, the Coyotes were given a glorious opportunity after Doughty was whistled for interference, a somewhat questionable call that the Canadian defenseman vehemently disputed.

The Kings would kill this penalty and, just a few minutes later, Jeff Carter would attack the net from the right faceoff circle and fire a shot in on Smith. The rebound caromed out in front and Penner beat Smith glove side to send the Kings on to the Stanley Cup finals.

"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."

Los Angeles now must wait for the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils to resolve their differences in the Eastern Conference finals, where that series stands tied at 2-2 heading back to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night.

The Kings will get a nice rest, not that they need it, as the Stanley Cup finals do not begin until May 30 in either New York or New Jersey.

The Kings might be pulling for the Rangers, as they defeated the Blue Shirts the only time the two teams met this year.

Los Angeles dropped both meetings with New Jersey during the regular season.

Of course, none of that really matters, particularly seeing as how the Kings are undefeated on the road in these playoffs.

For now, though, it is time for the Kings to enjoy the fruits of their rather unlikely run to the Stanley Cup finals—and to look forward to what lies ahead.