Opener Is Sputter Failure for Kings

The Kings talked a good game before the opener of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. If only they could play one.

In their 5-3 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday before a roaring, red sea of 19,995 fans at Joe Louis Arena, the Kings did none of the things they had declared would enable them to prevail. They fell short in special-team play, intelligence with the puck and, perhaps most tellingly, in the area they can most closely match the Red Wings--their work ethic.

A needless penalty that led to a Detroit power-play goal triggered a cascade of mistakes that helped the Red Wings build a 3-0 lead in the first period. “The worst way you could have started, that was it, for sure,” winger Glen Murray said. “We didn’t come out with the urgency we were supposed to.”

Like most of his teammates, Murray took consolation from the Kings’ ability to narrow Detroit’s lead to 3-1 and 4-2 in the second period. But such talk is cheap. Playoff victories come at a high price, and the Kings could not or would not pay that price Wednesday.

“We had a tough first period and kind of dug ourselves a hole,” winger Adam Deadmarsh said. “We were giving up shots from the slot for tap-ins, which is something we haven’t done in a long time. . . . They’re a good hockey club and we got caught watching the puck a little bit tonight, not realizing there were people around us in better positions.”

That put the Kings in the familiar position of trailing in a playoff series. They extended their club-record playoff losing streak to 13--it started with Game 2 of the 1993 finals and includes four-game, first-round losses to St. Louis in 1998 and Detroit last year--and were left to puzzle over why they abandoned every principle they had adopted during the late surge that carried them into the playoffs.

“I just didn’t think we played very smart today,” Coach Andy Murray said. “We have certain guys that need to raise the level of their game to the level they played at during the last streak. They don’t need to find something supernatural. We’ve played a lot of perfect games, but we didn’t play one tonight.”

Certainly, the Red Wings, who improved their home streak to 18-0-2, made them look bad.

Sergei Fedorov’s backhand pass to set up Tomas Holmstrom for Detroit’s first goal, scored at 6:23 with Jere Karalahti serving an unnecessary interference penalty, was a thing of beauty. Brendan Shanahan’s determination in fending off King defenseman Jaroslav Modry along the end boards and passing to Fedorov in the right circle for a quick shot at 8:51 was admirable. Brent Gilchrist’s execution in forcing a turnover in the neutral zone and springing Shanahan for a one-on-one confrontation with Felix Potvin--won by Shanahan at 13:24 after he drew the King goalie down and poked the puck past his glove--was exactly what coaches want to see.

But the Kings contributed to their own demise, and that’s what gnawed at them. A bad penalty to set up the Red Wings’ first goal. Getting outbattled for the puck on the second goal. A poor defense change on the third goal. The Red Wings, seeded second in the West, didn’t need help from the seventh-seeded Kings to look formidable.

“We realized that in the next game, we can’t give them the same chances,” Potvin said. “They were up right off the bat and come out real strong. They had a couple of wide-open guys.”

Said center Bryan Smolinski: “We didn’t do anything. All we did was wait and see what they were going to do, and they scored three goals. That’s bad hockey.

“We knew they were going to come out hard and we didn’t adjust to it. We’ve got to respond, or it’s going to be a long series.”

The Kings did chip away in the second period. Kelly Buchberger caught Detroit goalie Chris Osgood leaning the wrong way and jammed the puck inside the right post at 2:21 to cut Detroit’s lead to 3-1, but Shanahan’s second goal, scored after Potvin saved Fedorov’s shot but left a long rebound, deflated them. Ziggy Palffy brought the Kings back within two goals when he completed a three-way passing play into a half-empty net at 7:47, but the Kings could draw no closer.

When they pressed, Osgood was there to push them back. He made a spectacular save on a short-handed breakaway by Palffy at 11:15 of the second period, and Jozef Stumpel’s rebound attempt deflected away.

“That was a huge save for us,” Detroit defenseman Larry Murphy said of Osgood’s stop of Palffy. “You talk about in the playoffs getting that timely save, and that was it for us.”

Buoyed by the stop, the Red Wings raced up ice and scored their second-power play goal when Igor Larionov tucked the puck inside the right post. “That always seems to happen,” Glen Murray said. “If we’d made it 4-3 then, we had a little energy and it could have been different.”

Luc Robitaille cut Detroit’s lead to 5-3 at 14:40 of the second period when he whipped a shot into the upper-right corner of the net for his 50th playoff goal. However, the Red Wings stifled the Kings in the scoreless third period, holding them to four shots.

“It is frustrating,” Andy Murray said, “but by the same token, we firmly believe we can beat that team. We firmly believe we can beat that team.”

Saying it twice, though, won’t make it anymore likely to happen.