NOTES : Burns Goes to Foligno, the Voice of Experience

There was no spring in his step and, worse, no life to his chatter.

By those signs, Toronto right wing Mike Foligno knew he would struggle in the second game of the Maple Leafs’ Campbell Conference final series against the Kings.

“I wasn’t jumping. I didn’t have the enthusiasm I usually have and I was a little bit late everywhere,” said Foligno, who was scoreless and on the ice for a King goal in that game. “Even on the bench, I wasn’t talkative, and I’m usually very talkative.”

Silenced in Game 3 when he was benched by Coach Pat Burns, Foligno was reinstated Sunday and spoke volumes for the value of experience. The 14-year veteran, the oldest player on the Leafs at 34, started the game and later finished off a slick passing play by producing the third goal in Toronto’s 4-2 victory Sunday at the Forum.

“It had a lot to do with showing confidence in the guy,” Burns said of putting Foligno on the ice for the opening faceoff, “and I was looking for somebody to lead the way off the bat.”

Foligno justified his coach’s faith by scoring a power-play goal at 14:52 of the first period, 2 1/2 minutes after the Kings had halved Toronto’s lead to 2-1. Nikolai Borschevsky created the chance with a behind-the-back pass to Mike Krushelnyski, who saw Foligno chugging toward King goalie Kelly Hrudey.

“He knew I was going to go to the net,” Foligno said, “and he made a real nice pass over (Charlie Huddy’s) stick. It was no trouble at all.”

Foligno, whose only other postseason goal was the overtime winner in Game 5 of Toronto’s first-round triumph over Detroit, had no trouble talking Sunday.

“We knew the importance of Game 4. Pat told us the team that wins Game 4 wins the series 80% of the time,” he said. “We had to come out with fire in our eyes. We played more of a cohesive game and demanded more of ourselves.”

*

Burns, who had conceded the Kings’ superiority in speed, declared he had figured a way to neutralize that advantage. “But I’m not going to tell you what it is. It’s a secret,” he said.

According to the Kings’ Tony Granato, the Leafs’ secret was to slow the Kings down rather than try to match them stride for stride.

“They did a lot of holding up, a lot of interfering away from the puck and they were very strong on the puck,” Granato said. “They played a great road game and we’ll just have to play our best road game in Game 5.”

*

The Kings’ private jet is back in service.

Given up as an economy measure, the plane was called into service only once during the season, after a makeup game in Buffalo following the March blizzard. It sustained damage to an engine on that trip and wasn’t deemed flightworthy until recently.

The Kings were scheduled to use it today for their trip to Toronto.

*

Toronto center Doug Gilmour said he blocked out the jeers and chants that greeted him each time he stepped onto the ice at the Forum. “I don’t even pay attention to that,” said Gilmour, vilified by the fans for the slash that broke Tomas Sandstrom’s forearm earlier this season.

When asked if the booing might be flattery, he smiled. “Is it ever,” he said.

*

Laker forward A.C. Green is an enthusiastic hockey fan--and an unrestricted free agent. So it wasn’t a surprise that when asked what team he will be playing for next season, he replied: “The Boston Bruins.”

But then he paused and added, “And maybe the Celtics, too.”

Green said club officials have told him they want him back. “I have interest,” he said, “but I have interest in a lot of teams.”

*

The Kings are 5-3 on the road during the playoffs. Entering this season, they had only 15 road playoff victories in their first 25 seasons. . . . Of the Kings’ last six goals, only one has come at even strength. Since Rob Blake scored the first goal Friday, the Kings have scored two short-handed goals and three power-play goals. . . . Blake, a native of Simcoe, Ontario, said he will need more tickets Tuesday than the 13 or 14 he got in each of the first two games at Toronto. “I think it’s going to go up a little more as the series goes on,” he said. . . . The Stanley Cup finals have been set for June 1-3-5-7-9-12-15.