Kings’ Loss Is Simple: Panthers Are Better

The Kings could easily blame Wednesday night’s 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on an early-season schedule that included 13 road games and three trips to the East Coast.

Instead, the Kings credited the Panthers and goalie John Vanbiesbrouck for simply outplaying them before a sellout crowd of 14,703 at the Miami Arena.

“I think they are the best team in the league,” defenseman Rob Blake said about the Panthers, who improved to 12-3-5. “They don’t have many breakdowns and when they do, they have Vanbiesbrouck back there in goal.”

After a lackluster effort in a 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Tuesday, the Kings played harder against the Panthers, but still came up short.

Right wing Scott Mellanby had a goal and an assist, and Vanbiesbrouck stopped 27 shots as the Panthers ended their first two-game winless streak of the season.

“They came to play tonight, but it’s hard when you have to play back-to-back games,” Florida defenseman Paul Laus said. “But, we were fortunate that a few bounces went our way.”

With goalie Stephane Fiset making his first start in three games, the Kings kept the game scoreless for most of the first period despite an early onslaught by the Panthers, who outshot the Kings, 12-0, in the first eight minutes.

“We knew that they would come out strong tonight after coming off a bad game the other night,” Fiset said.

The Panthers, who lost at home to the Washington Capitals, 4-2, on Monday, did not score until 38 seconds remained in the period when Mellanby picked up a rebound and skated behind the Kings’ net before passing to center Brian Skrudland in the slot to give Florida a 1-0 lead.

“We just didn’t come to play in the first period,” said King Coach Larry Robinson, whose team had a season-low three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes. “If not for the play of Fiset, it would have been over quicker than it was.”

In the second period, the Panthers took a 2-0 lead when they made the most of an early power play opportunity. Fiset made a stick save on a shot by Panther center Martin Straka, but it was rebounded by Mellanby for his ninth goal at 3:33. “We just don’t have guys who go in and get rebounds on a consistent basis,” Robinson said. “Rebounds are just laying there, but we don’t have guys willing to go in there and get them.”

Midway into the period, Vanbiesbrouck showed why he is considered one of the league’s best goalies when he skated out to the right circle to stop the Kings’ Ed Olczyk on a short-handed breakaway.

The Kings, whose power play was 0 for 5 against Tampa Bay, finally broke through against Vanbiesbrouck with 31 seconds left in the second period when defenseman Mattias Norstrom found center Ray Ferraro by the right post for his eighth goal of the season.

The Kings’ momentum, however, did not carry over into third period. At 6:17, the Panthers took a 3-1 lead on Dave Lowry’s sixth goal of the season. Lowry was set up by a backhand pass by defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who blocked Fiset’s view while on his stomach in front of the Kings’ net after being taken down by Norstrom.

“I tried to get to [the puck], but I couldn’t move,” said Fiset, who is4-7-3. “I just couldn’t get there.”

The Panthers clinched the game with 11:34 remaining when Jody Hull scored his second goal of the season with a shot high into the right side of the net past Fiset, who was screened by teammate Sean O’Donnell.

Next up for the Kings, who finished 1-2 on the three-game trip, will be the Detroit Red Wings at the Forum on Saturday night. After that, they go on te road again for a two-game Thanksgiving trip to Edmonton and Calgary.