Kings Have Been Paying the Penalty

If Darren McCarty is to be believed, the Detroit Red Wings’ commanding Stanley Cup playoff series lead over the Kings is made of thinnest gossamer.

“We’re lucky to be up 3-0,” the gritty winger said Monday, after the Red Wings’ 2-1 victory at Staples Center put the Kings on the brink of playoff elimination. “It could be 3-0 the other way, or 2-1. It could be any way. . . . It’s such a fine line. You hear the cliches, but it’s true. We got the extra break or bounce tonight.”

The Kings have made the Red Wings sweat. They’ve made the Red Wings nervous. But they haven’t had enough discipline to stay out of the penalty box and keep the Red Wings’ league-best power play off the ice.

Because of that, the Kings haven’t made the Red Wings lose, and they’re running out of time.

“Every game has been tough and hard-fought,” said Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, who made 21 saves Monday, none more crucial than when he stacked his pads to repel a point-blank shot by Brad Chartrand five minutes into the third period.

“We had to fight every minute for this win.”

The Red Wings won this battle, so similar to their series-opening 2-0 victory, not because they’re lucky but because they’re more experienced than the Kings. And deeper. And better. Their penalty killers are 16 for 16 and their power play is five for 19, about as special as special teams can get.

“Our power play was good for the last few months of the season,” Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman said. “Knowing playoff games are tight and there always seem to so many power play situations that if you don’t cash in, you give the other team momentum. That’s been a big factor in this series. The more your power play doesn’t pay off, the more the other team is going to be in your face.”

The Kings may be in the Red Wings’ hair, but not in their faces.

“We were up, 2-0, and they made it 2-1, but we stayed poised throughout the third period,” said Osgood, who was beaten only by Luc Robitaille’s quick shot from the slot at 2:35 of the final period. “This was an important game. They want to get back in the series, and if they won this one, they would have.”

But they didn’t. And the Red Wings’ calm under pressure suggests the Kings may not win any games. “It’s been difficult,” Osgood insisted. “It doesn’t feel like we’re up, 3-0.”

Maybe not to him, but to everyone else, it does.

NET GAIN BY FLYERS

Like everyone else at the First Union Center last Friday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman didn’t know that Philadelphia forward John LeClair’s apparent goal in the Flyers’ 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres had entered the net through a hole in the mesh near the left post.

“He found out when he got a phone call from [NHL operations chief] Colin Campbell, after ESPN called him,” said Frank Brown, the NHL’s vice president of media relations. “He couldn’t have run onto the ice and waved his arms and yelled for a do-over.”

Why not?

The goal should not have counted, and replays from ESPN’s goal-cam make that indisputable, unlike the Stanley Cup-winning goal Dallas’ Brett Hull scored last June with his left foot in the crease. The Sabres had chances to win after LeClair’s goal tied it, 1-1, but the course of the game and the series might have been different had the video goal judge seen ESPN’s replays quickly and nullified the goal.

“When there’s millions of dollars at stake, from a business perspective, you get it right,” said Gary Thorne, a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC who wasn’t at the Flyer-Sabre game. “More importantly, the league keeps black-and-bluing its credibility by refusing to correct its mistakes. That hurts its image and credibility.”

Unfortunately for the Sabres, goalie Dominik Hasek, who often harangues officials about opponents camping in his crease, didn’t complain this time. Hasek was so puzzled to see the puck behind him, he guessed his pad wasn’t as close to the post as he thought. Had he complained to referees Rob Shick and Mick McGeough, the delay might have bought time for series supervisor John D’Amico and video goal judge Mike Condon to get the ESPN replay, which wasn’t initially available to them.

D’Amico and Condon had access to replays from two cameras, one installed overhead by the NHL and the other by Comcast, the Flyers’ TV rights holder. On those angles, the puck appeared to enter the net between Hasek’s pad and the post, or off the post.

“It was conclusively a goal and not conclusively not a goal,” Brown said. “There was no conclusive evidence it had not entered the net in the way countless thousands of goals have been scored in NHL playoff history. Everyone believed the normal course of action was taking place. . . .

“At least 50 seconds of review were conducted between the scoring of the goal, the review and the faceoff that followed. It was at least several minutes of playing time before ESPN knew what it had.”

Because play had resumed and video replay procedures have no provision for a goal to be reversed in such circumstances, it stood.

“Dentists miss cavities on X-rays,” Brown said. “This was a case where the proper system was in place. The people in charge of implementing the system and enforcing the rules did precisely that.

“There were four officials on ice, a goaltender and a legion of officials watching, all of whom have the cell phone numbers of the series supervisor and video goal judge. Where a scenario eventuates where there’s a piece of conclusive evidence after play resumes, the story is over.”

Will the NHL devise a rule to cover this situation?

“I don’t know the answer,” Brown said. “Is this going to happen once every 15-20,000 shots? The vigilance has never been more sophisticated than it is in these playoffs.”

Not vigilant enough for the Sabres, though.

FLAMEOUT?

Using the same script followed by the Ottawa Senators this season, Harley Hotchkiss, owner of the Calgary Flames and chairman of the NHL’s board of governors, said last week he may sell or move the club if fans don’t buy 5,000 season tickets by June 30.

The Flames’ season-ticket base fell below 9,000, which is 3,000 short of the threshold to get a $3.5-million subsidy from the NHL’s Canadian Assistance Plan. Hotchkiss projected losses of $58-$72 million over the next four seasons unless the Flames get more fan and sponsor support.

Sentiment in Calgary is running sour. Fans feel they’re being blackmailed, and are tired of hearing about potential and patience when the Flames have missed the playoffs four consecutive seasons.

SLAP SHOTS

Washington Capital Coach Ron Wilson may regret saying he’d play all seven games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road, “and we’d win ‘em all,” after scheduling conflicts forced the teams to play a 1-2-2-1-1 schedule instead of the usual 2-2-1-1-1. That was posted on the Penguins’ bulletin board, providing motivation for a 7-0 wipeout in the series opener,a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 and a 4-3 victory in Game 3.

Flyer Coach Roger Neilson, recovering from a bone marrow transplant, left Philadelphia for a vacation. He hopes to return for the second round, but that’s far from certain. General Manager Bob Clarke is happy with the performance of interim Coach Craig Ramsay and may insist Ramsay stay behind the bench to minimize disruption to the team. The real reason may be that Neilson is more sympathetic to Eric Lindros than Clarke is, and Clarke doesn’t want Lindros to get sympathy from coaches or fans.

The Mighty Ducks won’t be fined for calling Paul Kariya’s late-season foot injury a bruise when it was broken. Brown said that as long as the Ducks didn’t lie about the location of the injury, such as saying it was a shoulder problem, a fib is permitted. Of course, the lie damages the Ducks’ credibility, but that’s the least of their worries.

The New Jersey Devils drew 15,024 fans to Continental Airlines Arena last Thursday for their first home playoff game, 78.9% of capacity. Attendance was slightly better Sunday, at 17,206, but fans are still skeptical about the Devils after the team’s two consecutive first-round playoff exits.

Alexei Yashin wants to play in the World Championships later this month in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Russian hockey federation insists he’s eligible to play for his homeland even though he was suspended by the Ottawa Senators. However, the International Ice Hockey Federation may rule the lack of a contract prohibits him from participating even after the Senators’ season ends. Yashin faces an arbitration hearing next month to determine if he owes the Senators another season because he walked out on a valid contract.

Instead of missing eight weeks because of a separated shoulder, Colorado center Peter Forsberg sat out eight days. He returned for Game 2 of the Avalanche’s series against Phoenix to play 20 minutes 39 seconds, the most among his team’s forwards, and set up a goal.

Bruin fans have adopted the Avalanche this spring, in tribute to former Bruin Ray Bourque. According to the Boston Globe, sporting goods stores in Boston can’t keep Avalanche jerseys and other memorabilia on shelves because demand is so high.