Smith adds to playoff intensity in win against Kings

"I've tried to put that part of the game out of my game and worry about stopping the puck, but in the heat of the moment the wires crossed there a little bit, and I lost my cool a little bit," Smith told Arizona Sports 620's Burns and Gambo. "But it's a part of the game, and we're able to get two points out of it, so it makes it that much sweeter."

Smith got into a fight when LA's Anze Kopitar ran into him, which pushed Phoenix's goalie to the breaking point. Smith said he was hit a few minutes earlier and told the referee that he "better call this or it's going to get out of hand."

Sure enough, it did.

"After I grabbed him I felt a little bit bad because Kopitar is a pretty good guy, and he's not known for that style of play," Smith said. "But that's part of the game, and it's a fun part sometimes, but you've got to stick to stopping the puck and not worrying about that kind of stuff."

Smith's flared emotions boosted the intensity of the game, which was needed in their hunt for a playoff spot.

The Coyotes surged lately, having won seven of their last nine games, and had to beat the Kings because they've been neck and neck with them in the Western Conference. The victory pushed Phoenix to seventh in the standings and gave them a total of 65 points, which is two points ahead of being out of the playoff chase.

"It was a playoff atmosphere, playoff-like mentality and you want to play in those games, and as a professional athlete those are games where emotions run the highest and the adrenaline is at a whole new level."

Smith said that a big contribution to the win was that players stepped up who haven't in past games, but the key was that as a team they've focused on what they need to do to win games.

"At the start of the season we were kind of searching for the way we need to play, and I think as of late we've really committed to doing the small things in games that it takes for our team to win hockey games," Smith said. "We are a confident hockey team right now and we've got to keep going."