Defense Duo’s Risky Job Is Avalanche Control

From the moment Felix Potvin looked behind him and saw Rob Blake’s 75-foot shot squeeze through his pads at 4:33 of the first period, the Kings knew it would not be their night.

In a game where skill counted for less than sweat and persistence and lucky bounces, they had lost almost before they had begun to fight. “It’s a shame that it cost us the game,” Potvin said.

That goal alone wasn’t the cause of the Kings’ 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche before a sellout crowd of 18,478 on Monday night at Staples Center. And it isn’t the only reason the Kings trail in the second-round series, 2-1.

But with so little room for error, the slightest misstep is magnified. And the Kings made too many errors against a team that was content to slog and toil in the trenches in order to wrest a victory from the Kings and wrench the joy out of the screaming, roaring fans.

“We’re more determined than ever to beat them,” King Coach Andy Murray said after his team’s first home defeat since a 7-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 21. “We just don’t like them because they’re the team we’re playing against right now. We want to wipe the smiles off their faces.”

The Avalanche had ample reason to smile after ending the Kings’ three-game home playoff winning streak and earning its first victory in five games at Staples Center.

Despite losing center Joe Sakic to a first-period shoulder injury, its depth and tenacity won the night--as did its goaltending. Patrick Roy, still the game’s top money goalie until proven otherwise, made a pad stop on a close-in shot by Ziggy Palffy with a few ticks left on the clock, quashing any hopes the Kings would repeat the comeback they pulled off in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings.

“I just tried to tip it and Roy made a good save,” Palffy said. “It’s tough if you’re two goals down all the time. We have to play a little smarter to turn back this series. We have to hit guys like [Ray] Bourque and Blake. If we do that, we’re going to get turnovers.”

Said Potvin: “We’ve been in this situation before. We’ve got to regroup and come back strong.”

Game 4 will be Wednesday night at Staples Center, with Game 5 at Denver on Friday.

“This was huge for us,” Colorado defenseman Jon Klemm said. “We gave one up at home and knowing we hadn’t beat them here this year, this was a big one.”

It could be a pivotal point for the Kings, who couldn’t score at even strength. Their first goal, by Luc Robitaille at 16:17 of the first period, came during a five-on-three advantage. The second, by Glen Murray, cut Colorado’s lead to 3-2 at the 10-minute mark of the third period and was scored during a five-on-four advantage. Klemm rebuilt a two-goal lead for the Avalanche 33 seconds later, and Palffy sliced it to one with 40 seconds to play and Potvin on the bench in favor of an extra skater.

“What you saw in the third period was us getting pucks across the net, funneling pucks and bodies to the net,” Andy Murray said. “We did a much better job in the third period. . . . I would have loved to have had about another minute.”

Blake was booed relentlessly from the first time he touched the puck. The boos reached a crescendo when his ice-skimming shot squeezed through Potvin’s legs. “I wasn’t shooting to score. I was just trying to put it on the net and take a little pressure off us,” he said. “I didn’t wait to see if it went in. I had to keep my head up for [King defenseman Mattias] Norstrom. Fortunately, it went in.”

The Kings pulled even after Blake was penalized for roughing Scott Thomas at 14:50 and Adam Foote was sent off six seconds later, for holding Glen Murray on the ensuing faceoff. Mathieu Schneider got the puck down low to Palffy, who threw it in front to Robitaille. Robitaille fended off Klemm and redirected the puck past Roy at 16:17 for his third playoff goal.

The Avalanche scored the only goal of the second period, on a freaky play.

Norstrom was preparing to play the puck as it rolled along the far boards and get it past Peter Forsberg when it hit the foot of linesman Scott Driscoll, who couldn’t jump out of the way in time. Driscoll inadvertently kicked it to Milan Hejduk, who skated in alone on Potvin. The King goalie made saves on Alex Tanguay and Hejduk but couldn’t stop Forsberg’s third-effort shot.

“If the linesman does his job and gets out of the way . . . “ Murray said, his voice trailing off. “He had to know Norstrom was there.”

Colorado extended its lead to 3-1 at 8:21 of the third period, capitalizing when Norstrom and Jere Karalahti couldn’t get back quickly enough when the speedy Avalanche turned play the other way. Hejduk pounced on the puck in his own end and passed to Forsberg, who dashed up the left side. Norstrom and Karalahti scrambled to get back, but Forsberg made a deft pass under Karalahti’s stick to the right side, where Hejduk flicked the puck over Potvin’s shoulder.

The Kings closed the gap to 3-2 when Glen Murray corralled the puck near the end boards and passed it to Bryan Smolinski, in the left circle. Murray circled behind the net and to the left post, where Smolinski found him and he sliced a quick backhand past Roy.

The crowd came back to life, but the Avalanche doused its hopes 33 seconds later. Tanguay held off Karalahti and, with only one hand on his stick, threw the puck on net. It glanced off Norstrom’s right foot and off Potvin’s right leg before plopping to the ice. Klemm jumped on it and easily beat Potvin.

“Any time you give up a goal, you want to have a great next shift,” Klemm said. “Alex made a great play. It really took the fans out of the game.”

The Kings pressed and were rewarded when Palffy batted down a rising shot by Schneider, but they ran out of time. They’re not out of games, but they can’t continue to beat themselves.

“You’ve got to put this behind you,” Potvin said. “We win Wednesday, and it’s 2-2. That’s our goal.”

*

Joe Sakic had an ice bag on his right shoulder after the game and said he was day to day. . . . King winger Kelly Buchberger was a late scratch because of a foot injury that he suffered when he was hit by a Rob Blake shot during Game 2. He skated in the warmups but pulled himself out. . . . Lubomir Visnovsky returned after sitting out four games because of an injured hand, one of seven defensemen in the Kings’ lineup. Enforcer Stu Grimson was scratched for the third consecutive game. . . . Jamie Storr, rather than Stephane Fiset, backed up Felix Potvin. A club spokesman said Fiset was under the weather.

For expanded coverage of the King-Avalanche series, including photo galleries and live updates, please visit the Times’ Web site: https://www.latimes.com/nhlplayoffs

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Playoff Scoring Leaders

Through Monday

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Player, Team GP G A P Forsberg, Col 7 4 8 12 Satan, Buf 9 3 8 11 Lemieux, Pit 9 5 5 10 Mogilny, NJ 8 4 6 10 Turgeon, StL 8 3 7 10 Hejduk, Col 7 2 8 10 Sundin, Tor 6 4 5 9 Holik, NJ 8 4 5 9 Gomez, NJ 8 3 6 9 Schneider, Kings 9 0 9 9 Drury, Col 7 5 3 8 Sakic, Col 7 5 3 8 Gratton, Buf 9 5 3 8 Blake, Col 7 3 5 8 Young, StL 8 3 5 8 Palffy, Kings 9 3 5 8 Stumpel, Kings 9 3 5 8 Lidstrom, Det 6 1 7 8

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GAME 4 TONIGHT

COLORADO at KINGS

7, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net 2

Avalanche leads series, 2-1

Colorado’s Joe Sakic may try to test his sore shoulder today to see if he can play in Game 4. D8

ST. LOUIS 3, DALLAS 2 (2 OT)

Blues lead series, 3-0

NEW JERSEY 3, TORONTO 2 (OT)

Devils lead series, 2-1