Pacific Division rivals Los Angeles and Phoenix will play eight times this season. If the first game was any indication, the next seven should be bruising.

Michael Cammalleri, Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist, and the Kings beat the Coyotes 4-0 Thursday night in a testy game that featured a combined 77 penalty minutes.

``You get to know them very well,'' Cammalleri said. ``They get to know you very well. It turns into more of a grudge match than anything else. You've got to try to win those divisional matchups. That's going to put you in the playoffs.''

The Kings scored all of their goals on the power play and Phoenix was assessed 57 penalty minutes. Los Angeles went 4-for-12 on the power play and killed off all five of its penalties.

Rob Blake added two assists for the Kings, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Backup goaltender Mathieu Garon stopped 40 shots to earn his ninth career shutout.

``It seems like it's always easier when you get a couple-goal lead,'' Garon said. ``Tonight, we played awesome. The defencemen in front of me, they blocked shots. I don't think (Phoenix) got any rebounds.''

Phoenix lost for the fifth time in six games and remains mired in last place in the Western Conference. The Coyotes, playing at home for the first time since Oct. 7, were booed off the ice.

``What's disappointing is when you come off a trip and the first period is so vital, and you've just got to stay out of the penalty box,'' Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. ``I was telling the players after the game, obviously this a low point.''

Phoenix defenceman Nick Boynton ambushed Los Angeles defenceman Brent Sopel after Sopel levelled the Coyotes' Dave Scatchard in the third period. Boynton was assessed 27 minutes in penalties _ 2 for instigating, 5 for fighting and 10 each for misconduct and a game misconduct.

Late in the game, the Kings' Sean Avery and the Coyotes' Shane Doan were sent to the locker rooms with 10-minute misconduct penalties after they tangled.

``As a group, you're frustrated,'' Doan said. ``We know that we're better than we've shown so far.''

The Kings didn't look like the team that had played the night before in a different city. Taking advantage of undisciplined play by the Coyotes, Los Angeles built a 3-0 lead in the first period.

``The early power-play goals obviously were huge for us,'' Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford said. ``Not only that, the early penalty kills for us were good. That was the difference in the game. We got the power-play goals and it seemed to really spur on our confidence. That was a good victory for our team.''

Phoenix backup goalie Mike Morrison allowed three goals on 13 shots in a painful home debut as a Coyote. Gretzky replaced Morrison with No. 1 goalie Curtis Joseph after one period.

``We definitely needed a change in momentum,'' Gretzky said. ``I thought that was the right thing to do to maybe give us a spark more than anything.''

With Coyotes defenceman Ed Jovanovski serving a delay of game penalty, Frolov scored to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at 4:52 of the first period. It was Frolov's third goal of the season.

Los Angeles went up 2-0 when Kopitar scored on a rebound of Blake's slapshot at 16:29. It was Kopitar's third goal of the year. The power play came when Phoenix defenceman Dennis Seidenberg was sent off for hooking.

Another hooking penalty, on Owen Nolan, put the Kings on the power play 33 seconds later. Los Angeles left wing Dustin Brown made it 3-0 with his first goal of the year at 17:18.

Los Angeles went ahead 4-0 on Cammalleri's fourth goal of the season at 18:38 of the second period. The Coyotes were already two men short when Zbynek Michalek was sent off for crosschecking. Phoenix killed off the two-man advantage before Cammalleri scored on a 5-on-4.

Notes: The Coyotes fell to 1-2 at home. ... Los Angeles notched its first road victory. ... The teams meet three times in November, starting with a Nov. 4 game in Phoenix.