King Newcomers Enjoy the Comforts of Home

Adam Deadmarsh left his heart in Colorado, where his prematurely born 2-week-old twin daughters are slowly gaining enough strength to leave the hospital, but his head was at Staples Center on Saturday.

“Family is always the most important thing. I learned that since I had kids,” said Deadmarsh, who was acquired from the Avalanche with Aaron Miller on Wednesday in the Rob Blake trade but stayed in Denver with his family an extra few days. “But I have a job to do, as well. My focus is with my kids, but also to show up and play hard.

“Your first game, you want to win. You don’t want to come in and lose that first game.”

Playing with his usual fearlessness, Deadmarsh infused energy into a team still seeking emotional and competitive stability. Miller, who made his King debut Thursday at Calgary, played well in his Staples debut by recording an assist and a team-high four blocked shots in a 3-1 victory over the plucky but unlucky Columbus Blue Jackets before an announced sellout crowd of 18,118.

Goaltender Felix Potvin, acquired Feb. 15 from the Vancouver Canucks for a conditional draft pick, also made a successful home debut. He stopped 16 shots and was beaten only on Espen Knutsen’s redirection of Jamie Pushor’s pass from the right-wing boards at 7:41 of the second period.

That goal tied the score--Ziggy Palffy had scored on a wrist shot off a three-on-one break 1:45 into the game--but the Kings forged ahead when Bryan Smolinski’s shot from deep on the left side deflected off Blue Jacket center Tyler Wright and past goalie Ron Tugnutt with 2:45 to play in the third period.

Palffy added an empty-net goal with one second remaining to help the Kings remain four points behind the eighth-place Edmonton Oilers.

“It was important for us to play a good game and win today,” said Potvin, 2-1 as a King. “The whole team played outstanding.”

Despite the departure of Blake, a fan favorite, Deadmarsh and Miller got warm ovations when their names were announced in the starting lineup. So did Potvin.

“We felt the crowd was behind us and behind the whole team, and that’s huge,” Potvin said. “Columbus is a real tough team and I’m glad we had the crowd behind us.”

The Blue Jackets are winless in seven games, but they’ve been close. Of their last four losses, two came in overtime and two resulted when opponents scored with less than three minutes to play.

“They have not been beaten badly,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “We knew it was going to be a grinding game. I thought our commitment to our team game was solid. In the third period, we had a pretty good push on. Sometimes, it takes a goal like that to win it, when you have so many opportunities.”

The three newcomers were vital to that commitment. Potvin maintained his concentration despite some lulls, Deadmarsh had five hits, one blocked shot and a plus-one defensive rating, and Miller played a team-leading 22 minutes 48 seconds and also was plus-one.

“I think the things we saw are the things Adam Deadmarsh does,” Murray said. “He finishes his checks and goes hard to the net. He’s a physical force out there. Aaron was as strong as he was in Calgary. Felix didn’t have a lot of opportunities, but those are sometimes tough games for goaltenders.”

The toughest part of the transition is over for all three. Although Deadmarsh initially referred to the Kings as “they,” he soon corrected himself. “These guys are competitors,” he said. “I’m glad to be part of it, and hopefully, we can take it from here.”

Miller is also adjusting quickly.

“We’ve got a mission here to make the playoffs. It’s not like they traded me to a team that has no chance,” he said. “If we get going in the right direction, this is going to be a scary team in the playoffs.

“I think I lost about 35 points in the standings overnight, so that’s a change. But I’ve got to forget about what Colorado’s doing. This is my team now. I’m an L.A. King.”