Mile-High Kings

The biggest adjustment for defenseman Aaron Miller after he was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Kings on Feb. 21 was the result of culture shock.

“In Colorado, from Day 1 in training camp, all they talk about is the Stanley Cup,” he said. “It’s a lot looser here. It’s California.”

Hockey, though, is a state of mind. And although palm trees and ocean breezes still seem strange to Miller and Adam Deadmarsh, who were acquired by the Kings with two draft picks and a prospect for Rob Blake and Steven Reinprecht, they made themselves at home by adding the grit and competitiveness that enabled the seventh-seeded Kings to upset the second-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

“During the series, a lot of people were asking me what it takes to beat the Red Wings,” Miller said. “Now, you can ask anyone in this [locker] room.”

In a delicious twist of fate, that victory created a second-round matchup between the Kings and Colorado beginning Thursday at Denver. Miller and Deadmarsh will be called upon to hit players they once embraced as friends and roommates, to give nothing to the team that gave them their chances to build exceptional NHL careers.

And in the first two games, they must do it in the city where their wives and children still live.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a little strange,” said Deadmarsh, who scored the tying and winning goals in the Kings’ 3-2 overtime victory Monday over the Red Wings. “On the other hand, this is playoff hockey and once the puck’s dropped, they’re just wearing a jersey. They’re not your good buddy anymore.”

Said Miller: “It still feels like that’s home. I feel like I’m on a three-month road trip.”

The Kings’ playoff trip might have only just begun.

A decided underdog against the Red Wings, they’re an even greater underdog against the Avalanche. Although the Red Wings began the playoffs with crucial injuries and grew progressively more battered, the Avalanche has had a week to rest since its four-game elimination of the Vancouver Canucks and is at full strength.

Colorado’s league-leading 118 points weren’t a fluke, as Miller and Deadmarsh know so well. Yet, both said the Kings match up well against their old team and should be confident after banding together to rally from a 2-0 series deficit.

“Being an underdog is a first for me,” said Miller, who sat out the teams’ lone regular-season meeting after the trade because of a wrist injury. “The last four years, when I was in Colorado, we were always expected to win. In the series against Detroit, after the first two games, guys said, ‘Hey, we’re expected to lose. Let’s just relax and play our game,’ and we did.

“I’m just going to try and play my hardest. I have no ill feelings. I’m glad I got traded. Obviously, for me the trade has turned out terrific. There’s a lot of hoopla about being underdogs but I like the way the team is playing.”

He might not have been able to say that when he made his King debut, Feb. 22 at Calgary. The Kings, distracted by the Blake trade rumors and wondering if newly acquired Felix Potvin would solve their goaltending problems or merely add to them after Potvin’s debut, a 5-0 loss at Edmonton, had lost five of six games. They were fragile emotionally and seemed about to fall out of the playoff picture, a distinct contrast to the confident, commanding team Miller had just left.

“When I first got here, I think we were eight points out of the playoffs and it was the end of a long road trip,” said Miller, who had a team-high four hits and six blocked shots in his first game, a 2-0 victory at Calgary. “The team was struggling. For me it was a scenario of, ‘Go out and show what you can do.’ ”

Deadmarsh, new father to twin daughters who were being treated in intensive care, didn’t play his first game as a King until Feb. 24. He didn’t score, but he did hurt his hand, an injury that limited his ability to grip a stick and contribute offensively.

After sitting out three games, he began to round into playoff form and again began digging for pucks in the corners, fighting along the boards and claiming the slot as his territory. That helped him and Miller gain quick acceptance from their new teammates and coaches.

“Aaron played an unbelievable first game, and that gave him automatic credibility,” Coach Andy Murray said. “Adam had a great first game. . . . They’re both really good guys.”

They’ve also inspired in their new teammates a fierce will to win.

“Definitely, this team knows how to win. We know what it takes to win,” Deadmarsh said. “It’s always that extra effort, that extra battle, that extra loose puck. We’ve learned it takes that extra effort. . . .

“It has seemed like a long road trip for me, but on the other hand, I feel very comfortable with these guys and my new team.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

KINGS vs. COLORADO

Best-of-seven series

* GAME 1: Thursday, at Colorado, 7 p.m.

* GAME 2: Saturday, at Colorado, noon

* GAME 3: Monday, at KINGS, 6:30 p.m.

* GAME 4: Wednesday, at KINGS, 7 p.m.

* GAME 5: May 4, at Colorado, 5 p.m.*

* GAME 6: May 6, at KINGS, TBA*

* GAME 7: May 9, at Colorado, 7 p.m.*

*--if necessary

*

NOT SCOTTY FREE

The timing could be right for the legendary Scotty Bowman to retire. D7