Kings ready for Derek Forbort’s debut and for Milan Lucic to execute on offense

Like most NHL players, Kings defenseman Alec Martinez can recall the most important details of his debut.

“I remember we lost and I was minus-2, so I choose to forget,” he said of his Oct. 3, 2009, appearance in a 6-3 loss to the then-Phoenix Coyotes.

Martinez was confident that a better fate awaits teammate Derek Forbort, who is scheduled to appear in his first NHL game Friday night when the Kings (0-3-0) face the Minnesota Wild (3-0-0) at Staples Center.

“It’s awesome. He had a really good camp and he’s a really good player so all he’s got to do is just play his own game, and we’re all confident he’s going to do that,” Martinez said after the Kings’ game-day skate in El Segundo.

“It’s your first NHL game. You’re excited. You’re anxious. But he’s going to be just fine.”

Forbort, 23, was the Kings’ first-round pick and 15th overall in the 2010 NHL entry draft. He will take the place of Matt Greene, who has an undisclosed injury. Greene skated with the team Friday morning but stayed on the ice for extra work.

Forbort said the experience of having played in a preseason game at Staples Center should make his regular-season debut easier. He said his parents and grandmother were coming in from his hometown of Duluth, Minn., to watch him play.

“I slept fine,” he said. “I feel confident. I feel comfortable and ready to go.”

As for the rest of the Kings ....

They’ve had two practice days to prepare for this game since their 3-0 home loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Martinez said the work should benefit the Kings, who have scored only two goals and have given up 12.

“I think it’s been good. It’s given us two quality practices to work on the things we need to work on,” Martinez said. “We worked a lot on offensive zone play and neutral zone and a little bit of [defensive] zone so I guess it’s good to have those two days where you can work on things and watch some video so you can see it first-hand. Hopefully we carry that into tonight.”

The Kings’ power play failed to convert any of its 13 opportunities in the first three games, and Coach Darryl Sutter has seen a pattern.

“I think we need more time with the puck,” he said. “I think we spend a lot of time going 200 feet up and down the ice instead of battling for the puck and not thinking about the fancy play.”

Another factor in the team’s scoring woes is that Milan Lucic has yet to record a point as a member of the Kings and has been moved off the top line, where he had been playing with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. But Sutter said he has “no problem with his work or what he’s trying to do or ‘try,’” meaning the effort being made by the burly winger.

“I have no issue with that,” Sutter said. “I think there still is an adjustment thing, but he’s got to get into that adjustment thing. He’s got a real strong identity. He’s got to play that way. At the end of the day, that is what it’s about — play to your identity and I think he’s probably had our best scoring opportunities, quite honest, of anybody in our forward group the last two games. You want him to be in that position. You want him to be in the slot or to the net position, but then you want him to fire it. I think he’s had times where, instead of taking the shot, he’s tried to make the play, or he’s taken the shot and missed the net. Those are execution things.”

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