For Kings and Country

The mere act of participation, supposedly the very essence of the Olympic Games, became a source of controversy Saturday when Ziggy Palffy of the Kings played against his NHL team’s wishes in Slovakia’s 3-0 loss to Germany in a men’s hockey qualifying-round game on the first day of competition.

The NHL’s 12-day Olympic break begins Thursday, but Slovakia is one of the eight countries that must play in a round-robin tournament during the first five days of the Games to earn a berth in the final round. None of those countries depend on NHL talent as heavily as Slovakia, which spent months persuading individual teams to release players while the league’s regular season continued.

The Kings played Carolina at home Thursday and were at Phoenix on Friday; they face Dallas at Staples Center on Monday. They did not want Palffy to play on five consecutive days, so General Manager Dave Taylor agreed to let him join the Slovakian team with the understanding that Palffy would sit out the Germany game and play today against Latvia. King defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky was cleared to play for Slovakia in both games, but only on the power play Saturday.

King Coach Andy Murray wasn’t watching the Olympics on television Saturday and learned that Palffy was playing when a Times reporter called him on his cellular phone.

“You’re kidding,” Murray said. “I’m going to call Dave right now and we’re going to have to call up there and tell them he can’t play tomorrow.”

Murray broke the news to Taylor. Said Taylor: “Our obligation is to put the best possible team on the ice Monday against Dallas. With that in mind, we’ve asked Slovakia not to dress Ziggy [today].”

In the Kings’ 6-5 overtime loss at Phoenix on Friday, Palffy had a hat trick while playing 22 minutes and 53 seconds--his second-longest stint since returning to the lineup Jan. 2 after sitting out 14 games because of a broken rib.

Visnovsky did not play for the Kings on Friday because of a charley horse. Murray said he could have played, but they didn’t want to use two defensemen who were not completely sound. Jaroslav Modry played despite a strained hip.

After much pleading by the Slovaks, the Kings decided after the Friday game to allow Visnovsky to play in Slovakia’s game against Germany on a limited basis. Palffy said he awoke at 6 a.m. and left for his flight to Salt Lake City, where he arrived around 10:30.

Palffy was in uniform but did not play for the first period and half of the second.

After Germany scored on goals by Jurgen Rumrich and Jan Benda in the second period, Coach Jan Filc could not continue to let one of the NHL’s top scorers sit idly. “It was my decision, because we were behind,” Filc said. “We wanted to use everybody to bring some new idea to the game. We hoped that Ziggy’s ability to score would change the situation.

“Before the game, we [said] that he’s not going to play as far as his risk for the game tomorrow, and that he should be just part of the team, on the bench,” Filc said. “The game was going the wrong way, so we decided to let him play.”

Said Taylor: “I didn’t like the fact that he was dressed and sitting on the bench. That’s just too great a temptation.”

Palffy was coy about whether he asked to go in or was sent in. “No comment,” he said.

“If you guys are not going to tell Dave Taylor I played, he’s not going to know,” Palffy said.

He did sound genuinely torn about his commitments to the Kings and Slovakia. “I have to think about the Kings also,” he said in regard to his participation today. “This is not just Slovakia. I have to think about both sides.

“Everything’s important for me,” he added later. “It’s my country, I have to play for them. That’s how I am. And I want to play for the Kings. That’s how everybody is supposed to be.”

He certainly didn’t sound as if he would not play again if asked.

“That was only a period and a half,” he said. “That wasn’t that bad.”

Slovakia’s situation, however, just turned desperate. It can’t afford another loss. After the Latvia game today, Slovakia plays the fourth member of Group A, Austria, on Tuesday. Teams are awarded two points for a win and one point for a tie; the team with the most points will advance to the final round.

If it could ever get its entire roster together, Slovakia would have a potent team. But it has been a mess trying to fit the Olympics around the NHL schedule.

Miroslav Satan, for instance, took the Buffalo Sabre owner’s jet after they played Ottawa on Friday night. Because the airspace over Salt Lake City was declared a no-fly zone for the opening ceremony, the plane landed in Logan, Utah, at 3 a.m. Satan didn’t get to bed until 5. He left after the game to rejoin the Sabres for today’s game at New Jersey.

Filc said NHL players Jozef Stumpel of Boston, Zdeno Chara of Ottawa, Pavol Demitra of St. Louis and Marian Hossa of Ottawa will play for Slovakia today. And, perhaps, Palffy.

“It’s really tough,” Palffy said. “If you have to play back-to-back games and play five games in five nights, it’s no easy job.”

In other preliminary games Saturday, Grigori Panteleev scored the go-ahead goal as Latvia’s first Olympic hockey appearance in 66 years got off to a strong start with a 4-2 win over Austria at Provo, Utah.... Sergei Shabanov stopped 17 shots, and Oleg Mikulchik scored during a two-man advantage as Belarus beat Ukraine, 1-0, at Provo.... Maurice Rozenthal had two goals as France tied Switzerland, 3-3, at West Valley, Utah.

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Adande reported from Salt Lake City, Crowe from Los Angeles.