Situation Reaching Bottom for Kings

For once, King Coach Andy Murray said nothing to his team after the final horn. If he hoped his silence would speak volumes, he might again have been indulging in wishful thinking.

He knew the Detroit Red Wings would play a physical, take-no-prisoners style Saturday to compensate for losing forwards Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman to injuries. He knew the Kings would have to blunt the Red Wings’ power play and capitalize on their own advantages. He knew unnecessary trips to the penalty box would sink them.

He talks, the Kings parrot his words, but come crunch time, they forget every syllable. The gap between saying the right things and doing them never was wider than in the Kings’ 4-0 loss to the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, which left them with a 2-0 deficit in their best-of-seven playoff series and a 14-game playoff losing streak that began in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup finals.

“We got buried pretty good today,” said winger Adam Deadmarsh, who absorbed repeated physical punishment but continued to battle. “It was definitely a war out there, but we have to expect that. We need the next one, that’s for sure.”

The quick turnaround before Game 3 tonight at Staples Center gives the Kings little time to brood. Yet it might be a mixed blessing. “We’ve got a lot of Wing fans out in L.A.,” center Bryan Smolinski said, shaking his head.

The Red Wings probably won over a few fence-sitters Saturday when they scored three power-play goals, two in the first period, and stymied the Kings on five power plays. Sergei Fedorov had a goal and an assist, as did former King Steve Duchesne, and Vyacheslav Kozlov scored twice to support a 20-save performance by goalie Chris Osgood.

The Red Wings have shut the Kings out three times in their last six playoff games--including two in their four-game sweep last spring--and have converted 12 of 33 power plays while killing all 29 manpower disadvantages. The Kings took one shot during a five-minute power play in the second period, the Red Wings two.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game, but everyone pulled together,” Detroit winger Martin Lapointe said. “We wanted to make a statement and we did that.

“Obviously, it’s not over, and you’ve got to take it one game at a time, but if we bring this same emotion we brought today, it’s going to be tough for them.”

The Kings weren’t foolish enough to think the Red Wings would be vulnerable without Shanahan and Yzerman.

“Playing without those guys makes them even more dangerous,” Smolinski said. “You see how we played without Ziggy [Palffy] and Rob [Blake] when he was here. When you’re missing one of your big guys, it makes you hungrier as a team. . . .

“We’ve got to find a solution. We’re not adjusting to what they’re doing. We’re basically giving them our playbook. We have to have a major shake-up with our guys.”

Murray planned to address his players during the team’s charter flight back to Los Angeles. But it’s past the point for talk, and he knows it.

“It has to come from the players internally,” he said. “You only have to sit on the bench and watch Detroit play and know how much hard work and determination can accomplish. You either raise your level and play like that, or you’re not playing hockey much longer.

“There’s something that goes along with desire. It’s the way you carry yourself on the ice. You can want it and say you want it, but you have to do it, and we’re simply not doing it. We’re not getting loose pucks. I’m seeing body language in players we should not see. The Red Wings are playing exactly the way we expected. There are no surprises.”

Nor was it surprising the Kings took an early penalty after saying they had to avoid such transgressions. Scott Thomas was penalized for slashing at 2:04, and Fedorov scored from the right side at 2:16. Duchesne one-timed a pass from Fedorov at 9:12 while Glen Murray was serving an interference penalty.

After a scoreless second period, Kozlov one-timed a pass from Igor Larionov for an even-strength goal at 6:04 of the third. Kozlov struck again on the power play, at 13:31, when he deflected a shot by Larry Murphy past Felix Potvin.

“We’ve got to put these two games in the past and focus on the next one,” Potvin said. “It’s good not to think too long about this game and try to bounce back [tonight].”

The time to begin bouncing is now. And forget all the talk about the late-season playoff push resembling the playoffs. These are playoff games, and the Kings seem destined to play only a few.

“We have to get back to how we played 10 days ago,” defenseman Mattias Norstrom said. “We’ve got to say, ‘Sure, we can.’ We’ve got to say, ‘Yes.’ ”

The way they played in Detroit, however, indicated the answer is a resounding no.

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THE SKID

The Kings have lost 14 straight playoff games, two short of NHL record. Their last victory came in Game 1 of 1993 finals. The series:

1993: Montreal 4-1

1998: St. Louis 4-0

2000: Detroit 4-0

2001: Detroit 2-0

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Playoff Paralysis

Since winning Game 1 of the 1993 Stanley Cup finals, the Kings have lost 14 consecutive playoff games. The NHL record of 16 is held by the Chicago Blackhawks:

June 3, 1993: Montreal 3, Kings 2, OT

June 5, 1993: Montreal 4, Kings 3, OT

June 7, 1993: Montreal 3, Kings 2, OT

June 9, 1993: Montreal 4, Kings 1

April 23, 1998: St. Louis 8, Kings 1

April 25, 1998: St. Louis 2, Kings 1

April 27, 1998: St. Louis 4, Kings 3

April 29, 1998: St. Louis 2, Kings 1

April 13, 2000: Detroit 2, Kings 0

April 15, 2000: Detroit 8, Kings 5

April 17, 2000: Detroit 2, Kings 1

April 19, 2000: Detroit 3, Kings 0

April 11, 2001: Detroit 5, Kings 3

April 14, 2001: Detroit 4, Kings 0