Bad News Hits Kings on, Off Ice

The plan was to hold onto the puck, the idea being that the Philadelphia Flyers couldn’t score without it.

And then it was to make sure it was kept in the Flyers’ end, because it’s hard for them to score over an expanse of ice.

That was when the Kings figured they were only a player shy of a first line.

And then they discovered that Jozef Stumpel would be operated on for a sports hernia and could join Luc Robitaille on the injured list.

A 5-3 loss to the Flyers on Saturday night was the result of plans going right out a Staples Center window.

The sellout crowd of 18,118 murmured its questions when it was announced that Stumpel had joined Robitaille on the scratch list, and then became euphoric when Craig Johnson scored only 3:46 into the game to give the Kings an early lead.

“We had as much energy in the [locker] room as before a game this year,” Coach Andy Murray said. “Part of my pep talk was how this was going to be talked about in L.A. after we won tonight. How the press was going to write about how we fought our way through these obstacles. What a great way to make a statement!”

Philadelphia came back with goals by Mikael Andersson and Mark Recchi, then added scores by Eric Desjardins, Mark Greig and John LeClair as they improved their record to 3-0-1 in their last four games.

They are 7-1-1 in their last nine.

The Kings are 5-1-1 in their last seven, but more important is what this indicates for the future.

“We came out full of energy and scored that first goal and it was a fortunate goal, but I knew we didn’t have it tonight,” Murray said.

When Marko Tuomainen, who scored a first-period power-play goal to tie the score, 2-2, it was the Kings’ fourth shot of the game.

By that time, Philadelphia had 14.

When Desjardins broke the tie only 1:06 into the second period, the shots on goal were 17-4.

The line of Bryan Smolinski, Glen Murray and Donald Audette, had only one shot between them. They had been the second unit behind Stumpel, Robitaille and Palffy, but now they have to be called first.

Palffy set up his new linemate, Tuomainen, with a cross-ice pass, but Jason Blake, who had been playing fourth-line center until being scratched Wednesday night at Detroit, was struggling.

It was going to be that kind of night.

It remains to be seen if it’s going to be that kind of month.

The Kings were 2-10-1 last November, a month in which they had injuries to several key players.

They are 1-1-1 this month, but the troubles could be just beginning.

“We’re not going to allow [the loss of Robitaille and Stumpel] to be an excuse,” Murray vowed.

Goals by Greig and LeClair seemed like just piling on, though Palffy scored an individual-effort goal to counter them in the third period. At that point, he was skating in a double-shift situation with the fourth line.

By that time, things had gotten frustrating for the Kings, who received a noble effort from goalie Stephane Fiset.

He stopped 27 of 32 shots but was pressured much of the night by the Flyers, most of whose goals began with plays that were spawned by King turnovers.

The Kings learned of Stumpel’s plight only late in the afternoon, and it seemed a bit much after learning of Robitaille’s situation only a day earlier.

“We’ve got some players that can do the job for us,” Fiset said. “It’s a big a loss, Luc and Stumpy, but there are some guys here who can step up and do the job.”

That the Kings generated only nine shots in the first two periods, compared to Philadelphia’s 26, was a sign the lines were struggling with their new identities and the defense with its increased responsibility.