Kings Rue Missed Point

DETROIT -- It’s hard to complain after coming into the home of the defending Stanley Cup champions, overcoming a late deficit in front of a sellout crowd and stealing into the night with a well-earned tie.

But the Kings, opening a five-game trip, believed that their 3-3 tie with the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night could just as easily have been a victory.

In front of the usual 20,058 in Joe Louis Arena, they watched a first-period shot by Mikko Eloranta carom off a goalpost and another, a point-blank attempt by Ziggy Palffy, sail harmlessly into the glove of diving goaltender Curtis Joseph.

They saw Bryan Smolinski, on a third-period scoring chance in front of the net, get high- sticked by Red Wing defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom so badly that the gash that opened just above Smolinski’s upper lip required eight stitches to close.

Unfortunately for the Kings, however, none of the officials saw it.

The Kings saw their power play regain some of its juice, scoring two goals in eight man-advantage opportunities after going 0 for 15 in their previous three games.

In the overtime, they saw the Red Wings give them an unexpected power-play opportunity, only to rise up and kill it off. And then, in the last 30 seconds, they watched Joseph deny Adam Deadmarsh on a breakaway.

“The guys were a little disappointed we didn’t get two points,” King center Jason Allison admitted, “but looking at the big picture, we should be happy.”

That’s because, if a shot by Allison hadn’t deflected wildly (and fortuitously for the Kings) off Lidstrom’s skate and over Joseph’s right shoulder into the net with 10:25 to play in regulation, the Kings probably would have lost.

“If you lose a game like that, it would be a shame because you worked so darn hard,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “But you also realize you’re playing the Red Wings and you don’t have much choice but to play that way to have a chance.”

The Kings, who got power-play goals from defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky in the first period and defenseman Mathieu Schneider in the second, twice lost one-goal leads before overcoming a one-goal deficit after Sergei Fedorov gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead with 13:34 remaining in the third period.

Lidstrom, who would have been in the penalty box if any of the four officials had seen him clip Smolinski, assisted on Fedorov’s goal.

Smolinski, who recoiled from the pain and fell sprawled to the ice after he was hit, was asked later if he were shocked by the no-call.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he said.

Lidstrom must have been shocked too after inadvertently assisting on Allison’s fourth goal in six games.

Jumping off the bench and into the play on a line change, Allison took a pass in the high slot from rookie Alexander Frolov and fired toward Joseph.

“I was trying to wrist it through Lidstrom, use him as a screen and find a little lane,” Allison said, shrugging. “Sometimes you get those little tips and it goes in. Sometimes you hit him right in the shin and it stops.”

Neither Deadmarsh nor Palffy, back in the lineup after sitting out three games because of a strained groin, had to be reminded.

“An unbelievable save,” Smolinski said of Joseph’s diving stop against Palffy late in the first period. “Ziggy doesn’t miss too many of those. Nine out of 10 times he’s going to make that, but Cujo [Joseph] is a fantastic goalie.”

He’ll get no argument from Deadmarsh.

“I thought I put it in a pretty good spot,” he said of his point-blank shot in overtime, which Joseph turned away, “but I guess not.”