Kings Get Lost Again on Way to the Playoffs

After spending the last few weeks trying their best not to look ahead to the playoffs, the Kings finally ended their regular season Saturday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to the lowly Mighty Ducks before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Great Western Forum.

In losing to the Ducks for the first time in five games, the Kings received a goal by defenseman Philippe Boucher and played like a team looking to the future as they lost their final two games by a combined score of 11-4.

“We have to be concerned with how we finished the season, but the thing for us is to remember the way we played when we had success during the year,” said goaltender Stephane Fiset, who lost his second consecutive start and dropped to 2-7 over his last nine games.

“When we’ve played our system, no one really beat us. We have to think about the positive things in our season. We finished bad, but it’s in the past now. The season is over and we can now think about the playoffs.”

Added defenseman Rob Blake: “The regular season doesn’t mean anything now. It’s over and the way we ended will not be on our mind come [Thursday when the Kings are expected to begin their first round playoff series at St. Louis].”

The Kings ended the season with a 38-33-11 record, and their 87 points is the highest since 1992-93 when they finished with 88 in an 84-game season.

“I don’t know if there are a lot of teams that are 20 points better than they were last year,” said King Coach Larry Robinson, whose team finished with 10 more victories then they had last season. “We’re very proud of that fact. But at the same time, we’re also trying to be realistic. Just being satisfied is not going to get you anywhere. Every day is a new day. It’s one thing to get there and another to stay there.”

In 82 games, the Kings scored 227 goals, which is 13 more than last season’s total. The 225 goals scored by opponents is the lowest they’ve given up in a non-lockout season since 1974-75.

But, if the Kings are to have a chance to upset the Blues in the postseason, they are going to have to play much better than they did Saturday against the Ducks.

Anaheim, which moved out of last place in the Pacific Division with 65 points and will play its final game today against St. Louis, was without its top three players because of injuries: wingers Teemu Selanne (groin) and Paul Kariya (post-concussion syndrome) and goaltender Guy Hebert (shoulder).

The Ducks received goals from rookies Pavel Trnka, Mike Crowley, Frank Banham and Josef Marha, and goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov was sharp with 24 saves.

“We knew it would be a different game,” Duck Coach Pierre Page said. “It was the kind of game that [the Kings] are preparing for the playoffs and we’re trying to get a hold on who is a problem-solver on our team. We’ve been pushing hard lately and our guys have been keeping their spirits up. The young guys on our team are bringing a lot of enthusiasm at the end of this season.”

Even without Selanne, who has scored nearly 26% of their goals, the Ducks were able to expose the same defensive lapses that have hampered the Kings for much of the last month.

Just as they did in recent losses to St. Louis and Edmonton, the Kings gave up rebound goals and were not strong at the blue line. That’s why Robinson is more worried about his team’s overall defense than Fiset’s woes heading into the playoffs.

“It is no way to go into the playoffs,” Robinson said about the Kings’ effort. “We looked exactly like what this game meant, nothing. It is a disappointment, but at the same time we don’t have time to look at it too closely.

“Defensively, we are making errors and people are trying to do too much in front of Fiset. . . . We have to play simple, nothing fancy and get down to business.”

Fiset acknowledges that he hasn’t played consistently over his last several starts but says that the Kings are a better team when they have something to focus on.

“I didn’t like the end of my season, but it’s over now,” said Fiset, who finished with a 26-25-8 record and a 2.64 goals-against average. “One thing for sure. I’m going to be ready for the playoffs.

“Our concentration wasn’t as high as it was early on in the season. We knew a few games ago that we were assured to finish fifth [Western Conference]. That didn’t help, but we have no excuses for the way we finished.”

Kings vs. Blues

Tentative schedule for the best-of-seven series in the first round of the NHL playoffs:

* Game 1: Thursday at St. Louis

* Game 2: Saturday at St. Louis

* Game 3: April 27 at Forum

* Game 4: April 29 at Forum

* Game 5: x-TBA at St. Louis

* Game 6: x-TBA at Forum

* Game 7: x-TBA at St. Louis

x-if necessary