The Los Angeles Kings should not be underdogs in any game the rest of the playoffs. Home or away, the Kings are clearly drinking something good and have won nine of their first 10 games and took a big first step over the weekend, winning Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes.

And so, for Game Two the Kings, favored to win the entire thing in NHL Stanley Cup Betting Lines, actually have the advantage despite being on the road. Los Angeles is favored in Kings vs. Coyotes Game 2 Betting Lines by 1 1/2 goals with a -125 moneyline.

”We know we need to be better,” Coyotes forward Boyd Gordon told the Associated Press. ”They’re a very good team, they work hard, they compete and they battle. If we come out like we did in Game 1, we’ll be in big trouble.”

Dwight King was the hero in Game 1, scoring his first career two-goal game on Sunday. But the entire team was pounding Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith with 47 shots on the night, a huge advantage that softened up the defense. Smith faced 34 shots in the first two period, just under the team’s average per game this postseason. The Coyotes now trail in a series for the first time.

“We’ve got to be a lot better than that,” said Phoenix captain Shane Doan. “This is the conference playoffs. We didn’t play well enough for a regular-season game.”

Los Angeles is 6-0 on the road thanks to outstanding penalty killing, turning away 93 percent of their opponents opportunities this postseason while scoring four shorthanded goals.

”I’m not sure what they’re going to try to do to stop us,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. ”It’s one of those things where they’re going to make adjustments. It’s up to us as players to make adjustments in games to be effective and have an impact on Game 2.”