Murphy, Replacing Quinn, Coaches Kings in an 8-5 Loss to the Sabres

After a day of stress, in a week of turmoil, the Kings assembled Saturday night at the Forum “to continue on,” as assistant coach Mike Murphy said.

Murphy guided the team in his first National Hockey League game behind the bench, but the players’ thoughts were apparently elsewhere as they were beaten by the Buffalo Sabres, 8-5, before 12,441 curious spectators.

The crowd came to look, as if being in the building with the team would somehow make the baffling expulsion of Coach Pat Quinn seem clear.

Quinn was expelled from the NHL Friday pending an investigation of reports that he signed a contract and accepted money last month from the Vancouver Canucks to become that team’s future president and general manager.

For the first time in 2 1/2 years, Quinn wasn’t there for the Kings. He was probably no farther away than the players’ wandering minds. Mental errors--of a number unseen among the Kings since the start of the season--compounded and multiplied until the Kings were too far behind to get back in the game.

“We weren’t focused in 100%,” Murphy said. “Defensive play is probably most affected if you don’t concentrate. Before the game, we were optimistic. I honestly thought we’d play better.”

The Kings (18-21-4) had excuses aplenty, if they cared to use them. They were playing their third game in four nights, experiencing the usual travel lag, and of course, there was the Quinn situation. The players had spent the day in meetings: a players’ meeting, a skate, then a meeting with King management in which the Quinn matter was laid out for them.

Most of the Kings were not making excuses, however, after the game.

“Coaches have been fired before,” center Marcel Dionne said. “Games have been played with a similar type of motivation. I’m just not going to accept that.”

Rookie Jimmy Carson might have said it best, observing: “We just stank the joint out.”

In the first period, Buffalo didn’t look like a team that had the worst record in the league (11-25-5) entering the game. In fact, the Sabres were forechecking with greater success than the Kings and, unlike the Kings, managed to control their passing, especially in the attacking zone.

Murphy started his most experienced group of players, breaking up three lines and one defensive pair to do it.

Dionne centered the first line, with former linemate Dave Taylor on right wing and 13-year veteran Bob Bourne on left wing.

Defensive veterans Mark Hardy and Jay Wells started on defense.

“I wanted to start a lineup that was sound defensively, so we wouldn’t give up a goal early,” Murphy said. “You have to have veteran players. Those five I can rely on in any occasion.”

After that first shift, Murphy restored the lines to their usual configurations.

The Kings never led in the game but came back to tie it at 2-2 and 3-3 in the second period.

Not much happened offensively in the first period, except Bob Logan’s goal for Buffalo.

That was not the case in the second period, when the teams scored seven goals.

Mike Ramsey got one at 6:28 to put Buffalo ahead, 2-0, but Bernie Nicholls started the Kings off with a slap shot from the right point at 11:20.

Buffalo goaltender Jacques Cloutier, who replaced Tom Barrasso to start the period, was sharp in the opening minutes. Nicholls’ power-play goal changed that.

Luc Robitaille’s goal 45 seconds later gave the Kings a tie for the first time.

Buffalo scored at 13:44 as Ramsey passed to Christian Ruuttu, who put it past King goaltender Darren Eliot. Eliot had come way out, anticipating a shot from Ramsey at the point.

It was not Eliot’s strongest performance and was made worse by mistakes made in front of him. He allowed eight goals on 24 shots as the Kings outshot the Sabres, 32-24.

Dave Taylor got the Kings’ last goal of the second period, at 16:01, to tie it at 3-3.

Then Buffalo got two quick goals--by Scott Arniel at 17:45 and by Dave Andreychuk at 19:12--to give them a 5-3 lead at the end of the second period.

“I really thought, when we came back to tie it in the second period, we’d win,” Taylor said.

Robitaille and Bryan Erickson scored for the Kings in the third period, but Arniel, Wilf Paiement and John Tucker scored for the Sabres.

King Notes

Sabre goaltender Tom Barrasso played only the first period. He took a hard shot on the knee. When the Sabres put Jacques Cloutier in for Barrasso in the second period, they gave up more than skill. Barrasso, one of the largest goaltenders in the league, is 6 feet 3 inches tall; Cloutier is 5-7. . . . King rookie Luc Robitaille is still the NHL’s leading rookie scorer, and teammate Jimmy Carson is second. Buffalo rookie Christian Ruuttu is sixth.