LOS ANGELES – Luck was on the Coyotes side during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. A goal from Jeff Halpern that barely made its way into the net during the third period was later reviewed as good to take a 4-3 win at the Staples Center.Phoenix has taken four wins over the Kings this season in their last five games together.

As the Coyotes came into Los Angeles, their chances of overtaking the Kings in third place of the Pacific Division were on the horizon, as they sat just seven points back with 14 games left in the season. The Kings have dropped their last two in the hopes of not tumbling any further. Los Angeles came out hard in the third period with seven shots on Phoenix netminder Mike Smith in the first six minutes of play. Despite the hard offense, the Coyotes remained tight in their zone allowing no lucky breaks on the night.

The Coyotes responded later with a goal from center Rob Klinkhammer where his 11th of the season came off a deflection off Robin Regehr to take the lead. A cross checking penalty to Drew Doughty 11 seconds later helped Mikkel Boedker score his 17th on a centering backhander to make it a two-goal margin. The Kings fought for position for the remainder of the period, but the veteran group of Kings couldn’t break through fast enough.

The moment came with three minutes left for rookie Tanner Pearson to make a name for himself. The first year left winger blasted his way from the neutral zone; allowing him to past two Coyotes defenseman to score a shot behind the stick side of Smith for his second of the season and put his team on the board. The Kings late success gave them a dozen shots on the net, but they were still down a goal.

The Kings did just that seven minutes into the second, as Alec Martinez took credit for Jeff Carter’s shot from the left side through traffic that hit the stick of Martinez to tie the game. It became Los Angeles game through the remainder of the second with the Kings offense turning up the heat. On the third power play to Los Angeles, the Kings made a big statement taking the lead on Marian Gaborik’s drive from center that zipped into the net giving the superstar his eighth of the season and second with the Kings. Los Angeles outshot the Coyotes 15-3 in hopes that they would open a bigger margin on Phoenix while they could.

The Coyotes felt different in the third period and came out swinging their sticks to fire numerous shots on Jonathan Quick who made a miraculous save in the fourth minute with a shot that he somehow tracked to slide back in time to recover it. His save attempts went unanswered midway into the period with Keith Yandle breaking the tie, three on a rifle from the far end centering the puck high on the slot for his eighth on the year.

With the lead back on their end, the Coyotes played a strong defense holding off scrambles in front of their crease making the Kings stress out. It came to a hilt at 16:55 with Halpern’s shot as the Kings were struggling to keep up with the man to man defense. He took the puck on the stick side and went for the goal that barely made its way in the net. Video evidence showed that the puck hit the post between that and the glove of Quick to cross the line which referees called a good goal.

Halpern’s fourth left the Kings stunned, but not out as they fought hard to set up Quick to leave the net with 65 ticks on the clock. Los Angeles came out with six men trying desperate for force overtime and make the steal on home ice. Their attempt was denied by Smith who made one last save before the final horn sounded to end the game. The Phoenix netminder made 36 saves in his 26th victory and second straight. The Kings have a five-point lead remaining as the season comes to a close next month. With one last game against the Coyotes, Los Angeles will have to hope that they do not get any closer by then.