Another Look Cools Robinson

On second thought, Coach Larry Robinson said, the Kings didn’t play as badly in Calgary as it looked.

Yes, they blew a 3-0 lead, and a 4-2 edge in the third period, to lose, 5-4, in overtime; and yes, they abandoned the game plan, which was to get the puck in deep and work from there.

And, yes, there were some shifts skated longer than they should have been.

“Overall, yes, there were mistakes and yes we did get away from the game plan, but it wasn’t just one line that stayed out too long,” Robinson said Thursday. “But there are still some things we can learn from it.”

He vowed lineup changes, then didn’t change the lines Thursday.

“I think that once your temper gets down, and you start thinking positively, instead of blowing off steam . . . you might give a guy hell for doing something and then you look at the tape and see why,” Robinson said.

But not everything was taken back.

“We did get away from the game plan, and I think now it’s time for players to stick with what we’re trying to do,” he said. “That’s why we have meetings, why we watch tapes, why we do the things we do. They’ve got to give [coaches] a chance to do our jobs.”

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The lines stayed intact, but the defense pairings were shaken up Thursday, with Steve Duchesne skating with Mattias Norstrom after spending most of the season with Sean O’Donnell. Jan Nemecek was paired with O’Donnell, and Philippe Boucher with Garry Galley, as usual.

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Defenseman Doug Bodger, who has a broken hand, skated with the Kings on Thursday, but did not shoot the puck.