Glendale, AZ

The Los Angeles Kings ended 19 years of frustration when they finished off the gritty Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals thanks to Dustin Penner's game-winner with 2:18 left in overtime.

The eighth-seeded Kings are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993, when Wayne Gretzky first led the club to the title round.

Anze Kopitar, who was a force at both ends, scored Los Angeles' fifth shorthanded goal of the playoffs in the opening period to forge a 1-1 tie.

It was the sixth goal in the postseason for Kopitar, who countered Phoenix's gritty effort by redirecting defenseman Drew Doughty's point shot past opposing 'keeper Mike Smith at 11:13 of the first.

The Kings owned a 20-10 shot advantage in the middle session, but it did not stop Phoenix from earning back the lead via Marc-Antoine Pouliot's first career goal off a rebound of a Rusty Klesla shot at 6:23 in the period.

The Kings once again had an answer with Doughty finding the back of the net at 11:06 to make it a 2-2 game before Mike Richards' go-ahead tally almost three minutes after.

The teams headed the third period deadlocked at 3-3.

On the series-clinching goal, Penner, who was able to regain his form in the playoffs after struggling in the regular season, controlled the puck off a rebound of a Jeff Carter's thwarted shot before zipping it past a lunging Smith 17:42 into overtime.

That goal followed a controversial collision between Kings captain Dustin Brown and Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival in which the latter was injured and had to be helped off the ice.

Rozsival left the game, while Brown was not given a penalty, which earned the ire of the Coyotes team and supporters.

Jonathan Quick, a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate, finished with 38 saves for the Kings, who closed out Phoenix for its NHL-record eighth straight road victory of the playoffs.

The Kings, who will try again to capture the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, become the first team to go undefeated on the road en route to the Cup finals.

The 1993 Kings team, coached by Barry Melrose and featured captain Gretzky, lost that Final in five games to Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens.

The third-seeded Coyotes, who opened the scoring on a power play courtesy of Taylor Pyatt, also received a goal from Keith Yandle. Smith finished with 51 saves.

The Kings, who took out the West's top three seeded teams in 1-2-3 order, will begin the Final in either New York or Newark, N.J. The Rangers and Devils are set play Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday.

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