Avalanche Rolls Over Kings, 5-0

The Kings honored Adam Deadmarsh on Monday for the passion and tenacity he brought to every game in a career cut short by debilitating head injuries.

They then proceeded to dishonor everything Deadmarsh embodied as a player, showing little heart and even less discipline against the Colorado Avalanche.

Joe Sakic scored twice in the first period and set up two goals in the second as the Avalanche dumped the Kings, 5-0, at Staples Center and inflicted the Kings’ fifth loss in seven games. The defeat and the Mighty Ducks’ victory at Dallas dropped the Kings a point behind the sixth-ranked Ducks, who have played three fewer games.

The Kings have 79 points and are eighth on the West playoff ladder. Edmonton also has 79 points but earned them in 68 games; the Kings have played 70. The Kings also dropped to 1-3 on a home stand that ends Saturday against the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators.

“I’m embarrassed. This shouldn’t be able to happen,” King captain Mattias Norstrom said. “I don’t have an answer for this at this point of the year.”

Colorado vaulted into fifth in the West, with 82 points. The Avalanche’s fourth goal, by Andrew Brunette, was its last shot against King goalie Mathieu Garon, who was replaced by Jason Labarbera. Colorado’s Peter Budaj stopped 21 shots to earn his second shutout of the season.

“The goals came too easy to them,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “We’ve always taken a lot of pride in our determination and compete level ... it’s tough to lose this one here tonight when so much is at stake.”

Deadmarsh, who began his career with Colorado and was traded to the Kings on Feb. 21, 2001, won a Stanley Cup championship with the Avalanche in 1996 and scored one of the most memorable goals in King playoff history, clinching their first-round playoff victory over the Detroit Red Wings in 2001 with an overtime score in Game 6.

His physical play was his trademark, but it curtailed his career. He received a standing ovation when he stepped onto the ice Monday for a 15-minute tribute.

“You guys are the best,” he told the fans. “When I got traded here a few years ago, the first night I played in this building I knew I was in the right place.”

The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since 2001. At the rate they’re going, they won’t make the playoffs this spring. That would be a huge pratfall after their good start and the proclamation by Tim Leiweke, their chief executive officer, that they’d been awaiting the salary cap-driven economic system adopted this season because it would enable them to compete on equal footing with teams that tried to buy the Cup through free-agent shopping sprees.

True, the Kings have been swamped by injuries. And for the third straight game and ninth in 10 they had to make do without Pavol Demitra, their third-leading scorer. Murray said tests found that Demitra has a sinus infection, and he was put on antibiotics that are expected to solve his problem shortly.

The Avalanche has also endured goaltending deficiencies and injuries and a few days ago lost leading scorer Alex Tanguay to a knee injury whose extent is unclear. But if anyone seemed to draw inspiration from Deadmarsh’s presence on Monday it was the Avalanche, which had several players fill the void left by Tanguay.

Sakic scored twice in the first period on Colorado’s first three shots. On his first goal, he took advantage of confusion by the Kings in the neutral zone to shift to the right and take a wrist shot that hit the right post. He backhanded his rebound into the net at 9:19.

He scored again at 14:02. Taking a pass from Brunette, who kept his composure after being cut on the face by King defenseman Aaron Miller. He skated into the high slot for a screen shot that symied Garon.

Former King Ian Laperriere scored at 8:30 of the second period from the right circle, set up by a quick passout by Sakic. Brunette chipped in at 11:37 with a 35-foot slap shot that was deflected by Norstrom, and Antti Laaksonen was credited with Colorado’s fifth goal, at 10:41 of the third period.