I think the intensity goes up so much after the second round

If the playoffs are a time for leaders to show their true character, then Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown is emerging as a force. Brown had a goal and an assist as the eighth-seeded louis vuitton shoes Kings continued to steamroll through the NHL playoffs, defeating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 Sunday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. Brown scored the winner over St. Louis a week ago to clinch a berth in the final four and was working his magic again, getting the go-ahead goal to break a 2-2 tie early in the third period and picking up an assist to lead L.A. with 13 points. Brown took a beautiful pass from Kings defenceman Slava Voynov to set up a breakaway. Brown’s wrist shot beat Coyotes goalie Mike Smith, who was by far the busiest of the two netminders. Smith faced 47 shots. L.A.’s Jonathan Quick — who gave up a clunker from centre ice to Derek Morris in the first period — faced 27. It’s the first time Phoenix has trailed in a series this post-season. The Kings are a remarkable 9-1 in the playoffs. This is a battle between two teams few picked to get this far. Being in the conference finals is heady stuff for both franchises. The Kings haven’t been this far since 1993, when Wayne Gretzky starred in L.A. The Coyotes have never been this far. Neither has had much success in the playoffs and one of louis vuitton belts them is guaranteed a spot in the Stanley Cup final. The game unfolded according to the template the Coyotes have used to much success: Get outplayed, get outshot, rely on Smith to stand on his head and score a few timely goals. They were outshot 39-20 in Game 6 vs. Chicago and won 4-0. They were outshot 42-24 in Game 1 vs. Nashville and won 4-3. But the Kings’ template has also been successful: Pass, shoot, hit and swarm the net like bees on honey. “I don’t think that we’ve gotten away from our game for three or four months, so I can’t imagine it should change now,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said before the game. “I think the familiarity with being in the division is important, too. “Most of these guys have played against each other a lot. I think they know how both sides are going to play. The coaching staff, that’s what we expect out of our group, for sure.” To some, having the Kings play the Coyotes in the third round is a testament to just how good the Pacific Division is. “I think we’re pretty familiar with each other,” Coyotes captain Shane Doan said prior to the game. “I mean, we’ve had some pretty intense, physical games already. I’m assuming that it’s just going to kind of go up even more than that. We’re pretty comfortable playing each other. I don’t think there’s going to be too many surprises. “It will be a fun, intense playoff hockey. I think the third round, as a fan, I think the intensity goes up so much after the second round, because the second round, you’re happy to get into the second round, get out of the first round. Sometimes there’s a little bit of a lull. “Third round, you recognize how close you are to achieving your goal. From watching it way too many times, that intensity is fun to see and will be fun to be part of. “ Dwight King had two goals — including an empty-netter with 48 seconds to go — and Anze Kopitar also scored for Los Angeles. Mikkel Boedker also scored for Phoenix. A giant flying taco, a little “who let burberry handbags outlet the dogs out” and a massive white-out and they were ready to drop the puck at the Jobing.com arena on the Western Conference final. Sometimes fans can get the team up. Sometimes nerves get the better of the players. The Coyotes fell victim to the latter as the Kings dominated play in the first period, not that it mattered by the end of the first with the scored tied 1-1 due to a rather unusual goal. Kopitar opened the scoring at 3:53 with a nice backhand past Smith. The Kings swarmed the Coyotes, who didn’t get a shot on Quick until about seven minutes in. And that was only a long shot, more a clearing attempt from the Coyotes’ end to relieve the pressure. But long shots are exactly what the Coyotes are, and that’s what worked on Quick. Morris blasted a shot from centre ice that fooled Quick. It looked as if the L.A. goalie thought it was a dump-in toward the corner and he cheated that way. Morris sold it, but blasted toward the net and tied the game at 13:26, his second of the playoffs. The second period — which ended 2-2 — was much the same, with the Kings dominating play and Phoenix getting a timely goal. Richards and King went in on a 2-on-1 with Richards taking the first shot, Smith giving up a juicy rebound and King pounding it home. But toward the end of the period, the Kings seemed to tire. Phoenix picked up its play and a bang-bang play between Vermette and Boedker seemed to catch the Kings napping as the Coyotes tied the game heading into the third. NOTES: It was the first meeting of the two Pacific Division rivals since Feb. 21. . . . The Coyotes posted a regular-season record of 3-2-1 against L.A. Three of the six games went into OT or a shootout. . . . Coming into the game, Phoenix’s roster featured 23 players with 756 new burberry handbags blue beige cheap buy 2012 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience. . . . Ray Whitney leads the team with 98 career post-season games. . . . Phoenix dressed D David Schlemko in place of Adrian Aucoin, who left the clincher against Nashville with an undisclosed injury and didn’t skate again until Saturday.