Newcomer Instrumental for Kings

By the end of the Kings’ 2-0 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday, Aaron Miller could barely stand up. What was important, though, was how well he stood up during the 60 minutes that allowed the post-Rob Blake era to dawn happily for the emotionally spent Kings.

Miller, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche with Adam Deadmarsh, two picks and a prospect for Blake and Steven Reinprecht late Wednesday, blocked a game-high six shots and added a steadying influence to a team that needed some calm. Thanks to Miller and a newly configured defense, goaltender Felix Potvin barely broke a sweat in stopping 19 shots and earning his first victory as a King, first since Jan. 27 at Calgary and his first shutout since last Oct. 14 with the Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo.

“I was tired in the third,” said Miller, wearing a sweat-soaked Avalanche T-shirt in the Kings’ locker room at the Pengrowth Saddledome. “I played last night and was told about the trade and didn’t get any sleep. I was going on adrenaline, but my legs are gone now.

Deadmarsh did not play Thursday. He remained in Denver with his infant daughters, who have been in intensive care since their birth two weeks ago. He’s expected to make his King debut Saturday.

The Kings, who won for only the second time in six games and ended a 2-3 trip, leapfrogged over the Nashville Predators and into ninth in the Western Conference. They inched within four points of the eighth-place Edmonton Oilers, with a game in hand.

“I just want to come in and play good defense,” Miller said. “They’ve got enough offense that they don’t need me to get involved.”

The Kings’ offense was produced by Luc Robitaille, whose deflection at 11:58 of the first period ended the Kings’ scoreless streak at 140 minutes, 22 seconds, and Philippe Boucher, who scored his first goal in nearly two years at 9:48 of the second period, on a power play.

Potvin, who lost his King debut at Edmonton on Tuesday, said adjusting to his new defensemen wasn’t difficult. “It takes a little time, but it’s easier because we’ve got older defensemen,” he said. “All six ‘D’ tonight played outstanding out there. They battled hard down low. The forwards did a good job coming back too. Any time you take care of your own end, it’s going to be easier.”

Miller, who has played three games in four nights, won’t get much of a breather because the Kings play again Saturday afternoon. It’s probably better, he said, that he didn’t have too much time to think Thursday.

“You don’t have time to adjust. You just go right out there and play,” he said. “There were a lot of Xs and O’s before the game and I just said, “OK,’ and went out there and played my best. I thought the team played really well defensively. Tonight, they played well.”

Told he had called his new teammates “they” instead of “we,” Miller laughed. “Put ‘we’ in there for me,” he said. “It’s strange, but it happens in everyone’s career at some point. You just deal with it.”