Kings close in on Cup

Too close for comfort: Los Angeles' Jarret Stoll (left) and New Jersey's Bryce Salvador collide as Devils goalie Martin Brodeur makes a save during the Kings' 4-0 win on Monday. AP

LOS ANGELES — Everybody in the sold-out building sensed a crucial moment of the Stanley Cup finals when the New Jersey Devils got a two-man advantage early in a scoreless Game 3. The Devils threw every star and every scheme at the Los Angeles net, desperate for a power-play goal to turn around the series.

Jonathan Quick and his three penalty-killers coolly stopped everything, including the Devils' momentum.

Nothing has slowed down these Kings during one of the most spectacular playoff runs in NHL history — and now they are one win away from their Hollywood ending.

Quick made 22 saves in his third shutout of the postseason, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams each had a goal and an assist, and the Kings rolled to the brink of the franchise's first title, beating New Jersey 4-0 on Monday night to take a 3-0 series lead.

Alec Martinez scored the opening goal, and Jeff Carter and Williams added late power-play goals for the Kings, who improved to an astonishing 15-2 in the postseason.

"I don't think we're too surprised," said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who has scored in every game of the finals. "We know we have a great team in here. Before this game, it easily could have been 2-0 for them. It is a tight series, but at the same time, we are really confident with the team we have in here."

And with good reason: The Western Conference's eighth-seeded team has jumped to a 3-0 lead in its fourth straight series — a feat never accomplished in NHL history before these seemingly charmed Kings steamrolled every opponent in their path.

Game 4 is Wednesday night at Los Angeles.

"We're almost where we're trying to go, but we haven't won anything yet," captain Dustin Brown said. "We know what we have a chance to do, though. Having an opportunity to win a championship here could get rid of a lot of frustration for a lot of people."

Martin Brodeur stopped 17 shots, but the Devils couldn't beat the impenetrable Quick or his penalty-killers, who turned aside six power plays — none bigger than a 60-second kill during 5-on-3 play late in the first period that left the Kings' fans standing and roaring.

"I think the (penalty-kill) was the difference in the game," the 26-year-old Quick said.

The relative youngster in black has outplayed the 40-year-old Brodeur, and New Jersey must accomplish just the fourth comeback from an 0-3 series deficit in NHL playoff history to win its fourth title.

"It's not the best situation," Brodeur said. "It's probably the worst situation you could be in — no, it is the worst situation you could be in. But we believe in ourselves. We're going to compete as hard as we can, and the result will be there one way or another. . . . We're just facing a team right now that's doing everything right."

The Devils had never lost three straight Stanley Cup finals games in the franchise's five appearances. New Jersey hadn't lost three straight games this season since late February.

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Coyotes continue surge, close out Predators in Game 5

GLENDALE, Arizona — An hour before one of the biggest games in franchise history, the Phoenix Coyotes learned a deal was in place for a new owner, one they hoped would end three years of uncertainty.

Stick back: New York's Henrik Lundqvist blocks a shot from Washington in the third period of Game 5 on Monday night. The Rangers beat the Capitals 3-2 and lead the series 3-2. AP

They celebrated in typical fashion: grinding out another victory.

This one, though, will take them somewhere they've never been before: the Western Conference finals.

Relying again on their grit and the superb goaltending of Mike Smith, the Coyotes beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Monday night to earn their first trip to the conference finals in 33 years as an NHL franchise.

"It feels great right now, a lot of hard work," Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle said. "It's been a battle the past few years, but it's a lot of fun and we're blessed to be where we are right now."

The day started off with news the Coyotes and their fans had been anticipating for three years.

Speaking as players from both teams warmed up in the hallway, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that a tentative deal had been reached to sell the Coyotes to former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.

Phoenix paid it no mind. The Coyotes had spent the previous three seasons with the uncertainty hanging over them and had learned to keep their focus on the ice, not what happens off it.

Playing its usual counterpunching style, Phoenix withstood an early flurry by Nashville and followed with goals from Derek Morris and Martin Hanzal in the second period.

And, as usual, the Coyotes gave up a late goal to make it interesting, this one by Colin Wilson with just under 6 minutes left.

Phoenix has become accustomed to seat-of-their-pants victories, though, and they pulled out another one, nearly getting an empty-net goal by Smith before setting off a raucous celebration on the ice rink surrounded by desert.

Next up for the Coyotes are the Los Angeles Kings, the first No. 8 seed to knock off Nos. 1 and 2 in the same playoffs.

Rangers 3, Capitals 2 (OT)

In New York, Marc Staal scored a power-play goal 1:35 into overtime after Brad Richards tied it in the dying seconds of regulation to lift the Rangers to a stunning victory over Washington in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

With goalie Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, the Capitals' Joel Ward took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 21.3 seconds left in the third period.

Richards tied it on the first half of the power play with just 7.6 seconds to go, and Staal won it with a drive that appeared to deflect off a Washington player before beating goalie Braden Holtby.

The top-seeded Rangers can advance to the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday in Washington.

With the crowd still buzzing over the shocking tying goal, a din that held up through the long intermission, John Mitchell won a faceoff in the Capitals' end to start the winning play.

Staal corralled the puck at the right point, glided to the center of the zone, and fired the drive that set off a wild celebration on the ice and in the seats at Madison Square Garden.

John Carlson, who had given Washington a 2-1 lead in the third period, couldn't keep the puck out after he got in behind Holtby as a last line of defense.

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Close friendship brings out best in Heat's Wade, James

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are known to bicker like brothers. They screamed at one another more than once during Miami Heat playoff games last season. And when they're on opposite teams in practice, they attack the other like they would any opponent.

Double trouble: Dwyane Wade (left) and LeBron James share a joke during a preseason game against the Magic last week. AP PHOTO

Now they're closer than ever.

And on the cusp of entering Year 2 together with the Heat, Wade and James opened up about their friendship Friday.

"I don't think many players that have the similar games as we have or have done the things that we did in the league can come together this fast and make it work," Wade said. "That communication is there. I don't mind him saying something to me. I don't mind when I have to say something to him. We know how to make it work."

They have so much in common that both find it almost funny sometimes.

Forget the obvious stuff: They're both among the NBA's highest-paid players, then make another truckload of money annually in endorsements. They're both among the league's best scorers, perennial All-Stars, among the most recognizable athletes in the world. What's often forgotten is the ties that really bind, like both having difficult times as kids, relying on one parent at a time and soon understanding that basketball was the vehicle for changing their lives.

James is 203 cm, Wade is 193 cm. James is from Akron, Ohio, Wade from Chicago. James loves tattoos, Wade doesn't have any. James went to the NBA straight out of high school, Wade went to college first.

Nonetheless, Wade and James basically look at each other as mirror images.

"That had a lot to do with me coming down here," James said. "There's nothing that I've seen that he hasn't seen, and vice versa. To be able to be alongside him, be with him every day and basically go through the same things on the court and off the court, it's great. Sometimes you're able to sit back and see things from a different perspective instead of everybody watching you."

They take their cues from each other, whether it is fashion, workout regimens or just where to sit sometimes. For Friday's post-practice interview, Wade slid his body down a wall in a room adjacent to the Heat training facility, slumping to the floor.

"Tired," Wade said.

Two minutes later, James entered the room. Even though he didn't see how Wade took his seat, he did the same thing, putting his back to the wall and sliding to the red carpet.

"Tired," James said.

Maybe it's more than a coincidence.

"What's the saying? Iron sharpens iron. Greatness breeds greatness," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So you see an example of that next to you. Those guys want to be challenged. Those guys like to be challenged. They do not accept the success that they've had and where they are right now. They're always trying to push to go to the next level. And there's no better way for them to do that than to have an equal peer next to them, pushing them."

The biggest question when Wade, James and Chris Bosh teamed up in July 2010 was will it work?

There have been bumps in the road, and likely there will be a few more — but they are making it work.

James finished second in the league in scoring, Wade finished fourth. Since 1965, the only other time two teammates were among the NBA's top four scorers, and played for a team that went to the NBA Finals was 2001, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal did it for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Of course, Bryant and O'Neal won the title; Dallas beat Miami in last season's Finals. And James and Wade will get yet another reminder of that defeat Sunday when the Heat open their season against the Mavericks — and watch the new champs raise their title banner.

"For us, getting better is not necessarily going to show in our numbers," Wade said. "It's going to show in our leadership. It's going to show in those moments where we get in those games like the Finals where we're up 10 in the fourth quarter, how do we help our team get that win no matter what's going on in the game. It's more so that, not just how we score the ball, rebound, pass. We're going to have those numbers. It's the other things."

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