PALFFY'S RETURN IS BETTER THAN LUC'S
KINGS DOWN RED WINGS, 3-2 IN OT
LOS ANGELES -- Former Los Angeles Kings' star left wing Luc
Robitaille returned to Los Angeles on Saturday night to face his old
team as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.
Robitaille, who scored 520 regular season goals for the Kings,
returned to Staples Center for the first time since he signed with
the Red Wings last July, already with ten goals this season.
But Robitaille's return was spoiled by the return of Kings' right
wing Ziggy Palffy, who scored at 3:33 of overtime to lead the Kings
to a 3-2 victory over the mighty Red Wings in front of a
standing-room only crowd of 18,385.
Palffy was activated from injured reserve after missing the last five
games with back spasms, and his presence was a big difference for the
Kings, who have been sputtering offensively.
Palffy's speed, puck-handling ability and scoring touch were clearly
missed by the Kings--he made quite a difference for them in this
game.
"I think Ziggy had a lot of jump," Kings' head coach Andy Murray
said. "It certainly looks like he's playing pain-free and when he's
skating like that, it's certainly very encouraging."
Palffy, who was stopped by Red Wings' superstar goalie Dominek Hasek
on a breakaway in the first period, got even with a breakaway goal to
win the game in overtime.
"He's dangerous," Robitaille said about his former teammate. "He
doesn't miss too many. If you give him two, he'll score one for sure.
That was a great move he made."
Palffy returning was big for the Kings, but most important, they won
the game, something they have done in just five games this season.
"That's big," Kings' center Jason Allison said. "We've played a lot
of good games but found a way to lose them."
"The thing that was different tonight was that we didn't quit, we
never gave up," Kings' right wing Ian Laperriere said. "We've had a
lot of one-goal games and it seemed when we'd get down 3-2, that was
OK. Not tonight."
"It's obviously nice to win a hockey game," said Kings' winger Adam
Deadmarsh, who scored at 10:51 of the third period to give the Kings
a 2-1 lead. "We've really been struggling lately. We've had our tough
times this year, so winning this game is a good step in the right
direction."
"The game was exciting and it reminded me a little bit [of last
season's playoff series against Detroit]," Deadmarsh added. "It was a
packed house and for once, we got the third goal. We've really
struggled to get that one lately and it feels good."
"It's going to be a little better atmosphere in the dressing room,"
said Deadmarsh. "We've been kind of quiet around the room the last
couple of weeks."
"We haven't won the [Stanley] Cup by any means, but it is a stepping
stone in the right direction," Deadmarsh concluded.
Deadmarsh also said that the Kings getting healthy again is making a
difference.
"We got some fresh faces back in the lineup that were dearly missed
and hopefully everyone can stay healthy and pull together and keep it
going," Deadmarsh added.
Joining Palffy in coming off of the injured reserve list was
defenseman Aaron Miller, who missed eight games with back spasms. He
played a strong game on the Kings' blue line, making the Kings'
defensive corps considerably better.
Andy Murray liked a lot of what he saw from his team, especially in
the third period, when the Kings dominated the Red Wings.
"We were real good in the third period," Murray said. "I think the
only chance they had was the one they scored on. I thought [Kings'
goalie] Felix [Potvin] made a couple of good saves at the right time
and the guys who are difference-makers made a difference tonight."
In addition to Palffy, the Kings' difference-makers included
Deadmarsh and center Eric Belanger, who both scored goals, helping
lead the Kings to the win.
"It's always an important win against a team in the conference,
especially Detroit, the best team in the league," Murray said.
But Murray is certainly not satisfied with his team.
"To be very honest, I think we can play a lot better than we've
played," Murray said. "We got a win here, but we can be a lot
better."
The Kings were all commenting on how a big win like this could give
them the confidence they need to turn things around.
"Confidence is very key in situations like this," said Kings' winger
Kelly Buchberger. "When you're fighting it, you're struggling with
the puck. You're working hard, but you're not working smart."
"But when you have confidence, things are going your way," he added.
"You're driving to the net, and you get the lucky bounce off your
skate."
As usual, Detroit head coach Scotty Bowman was pretty tight-lipped
following the game.
"We were fortunate to get the point," Bowman said. "We didn't have
much of an attack."
"We haven't had a lot of scoring chances lately, but we've made the
most of our goals--getting three points the last two nights on just
three goals," Bowman added. "It's something that's hard to address
because it's all around the league."
Almost as big as the return of Palffy to the Kings' lineup, and as
big as Robitaille returning to Los Angeles to face his old team, was
the play of both goalies, Hasek and Kings' goalie Felix Potvin, who
both played very well.
Both goalies made their share of difficult saves, but Hasek had to
make more of them to compensate for shoddy defensive play by the
Wings, especially late in the game.
Robitaille was honored by the Kings prior to the game with a video
tribute that was shown to the fans at Staples Center on the
scoreboard.
Fans then gave him a standing ovation while chanting the familiar
"LUUUUUUUCCC...LUUUUUUUCCC."
"That was really nice," Robitaille said. "They didn't have to do
that. The fans here have always treated me great. Los Angeles is my
home."
"The guys [Kings] were impressive tonight," Robitaille said, while
visiting with Kings' President Tim Leiweke in the Red Wings' dressing
room after the game. "This was a very special night for me, a night I
will remember for a long time. And a little weird, too."
Robitaille said that even though he plays for the Red Wings, Los
Angeles is his home.
"I loved playing in LA," Robitaille explained. "I'm going to live
here when I'm finished. The fans have been so great to me my whole
career, and I'll never forget the memories I have here. I love this
town and I love the organization, and it was a great ride."
"My best memory is 1993, going to the finals and seeing that we could
turn this town into a hockey town," Robitaille said.
From his remarks, it seems that any animosity between Robitaille and
the Kings over their contract dealings during the summer has been
patched up.
"I left the Kings because of what their offer was," he explained. "It
was their choice, and that's OK. They have to handle their business
the way they want. I mean, it's not that they gave me a bad offer,
but I thought I could do better somewhere else."
Indeed. Not only did Robitaille get a nice pay raise, but he is
playing for a more-than-legitimate Stanley Cup contender, but is
playing on a line with two other 600-goal scorers, Steve Yzerman and
Brett Hull.
Robitaille, who is a lock to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of
Fame, talked about why he has been successful in the NHL.
"The biggest reason for my success is how much I love the game and
how much I'm willing to pay a price to be successful," Robitaille
said. "I play every game like it's my last."
Scratches
---------
Los Angeles: Mikko Eloranta (healthy), Jason Holland (healthy),
Mathieu Schneider (hip/groin injuries)
Detroit: Tomas Holmstrom (wrist), Maxim Kuznetsov (head injury)
Lineup Changes
--------------
For Los Angeles, forward Jaroslav Bednar was assigned to the
Manchester Monarchs of the AHL prior to this game, to make room on
the roster for Palffy and Miller, who both returned from injured
reserve (back spasms).
Goalies
-------
Los Angeles: Felix Potvin
Detroit: Dominek Hasek
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Steven Walkom
Linesmen: Wayne Bonney, Mike Cvik
First Period
------------
An evenly-played period, and with both goalies playing very well,
making big saves...
At the 5:44 mark, the Wings had a two-on-two rush, and Wings' forward
Yuri Butsayev took a nice pass from the right circle, and just
outside left crease, re-directed the pass on net. But Potvin got
over quickly to make a good save.
Near the 8:04 mark, Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios got the puck in
the right circle, and wristed the puck on net. Potvin made an easy
save, but the rebound was at his feet. Kings' defenseman and team
captain Mattias Norstrom was there, and he quickly cleared the puck
up the middle, all the way to center ice where Palffy had just come
out of the penalty box. He had a breakaway from the red line in, and
tried to beat Hasek through the seven-hole (between his arm and leg
pad, in this case, his right/blocker arm), but was stoned by Hasek,
who made it look easy.
Palffy just tried to get off a quick shot, and did not deke or try to
put a move on Hasek.
"Dominik is a good goalie, one of the best, so it's always hard to
score against him," said Palffy, who missed five games due to back
spasms. "He challenges me well. I didn't get anything the first time.
I tried to go under the blocker."
"It's really hard to get a breakaway, you don't know what to do
against him," Palffy added. "I have to be quick and decide right
away. You can't be too late against him."
At the 9:50 mark, it was Potvin's turn. Wings' star center Sergei
Fedorov had the puck on the rush, coming in with speed on right wing.
From the right hashmark, he got off a hard wrist shot, but Potvin
made the save.
Then, with the Wings on the power play, they were too aggressive at
the Kings' blue line, and got caught too deep. The Kings cleared the
zone and had a three-on-one break, shorthanded. Eric Belanger wound
up with the puck at 10:28, just below the left circle, and got off a
good wrist shot, but he shot the puck right into Hasek's glove.
Hasek did not even have to move his glove to make the save, although
he did right after he caught it to make the save look better.
Thirty-two seconds later, the Red Wings got a goal off a fortunate
deflection...
1. DETROIT. Igor Larionov 2 (Fredrik Olausson, Nicklas Lidstrom),
11:00
Just after a Detroit power play expired, Olausson got the puck at
right point, and he wristed it towards the net. The puck was headed
wide left, but was deflected in mid-air by Norstrom's stick in front.
The puck then bounced off Larionov's left leg as he stood just
outside left crease, beating Potvin into the open left side of the
net.
Second Period
-------------
No scoring...and more saves by Hasek and Potvin...
At the 8:40 mark, Palffy and Allison were in on a two-on-one break.
Palffy carried the puck down left wing, and into the left circle,
where he fired a hard wrist shot from the lower left circle...right
into Hasek's pads.
Fourteen seconds later, Wings' right wing Brett Hull took a pass from
Detroit center Steve Yzerman, who was at the right outer hashmark.
Hull caught the puck with his right hand, dropped it to his stick,
and got off a quick, hard wrist shot that looked like a sure-goal.
But Potvin was quicker, and got his glove on the puck to deflect it
over the net. A great save.
At the 10:42 mark, Palffy took a pass from behind the Detroit net,
and was all alone in the low slot. He held the puck for a second
before firing a wrist shot. But Hasek sprawled to make a tremendous
save.
Third Period
------------
Although the Wings would score a goal in this period, it was really
all Kings, who outshot the Wings, 12-3 in the period.
Early in the period, Allison got his best chance to score his first
goal with the Kings. He had the puck in the crease, and got three
whacks at the loose puck with Hasek down, but Hasek used his
outstretched left leg to make sure Allison could do nothing more than
fire the puck right into his leg pad.
But Hasek could not stop everything the Kings threw at him...
2. LOS ANGELES. Eric Belanger 4 (Laperriere, Philippe Boucher),
3:41
Boucher got to the loose puck in the right corner of the Kings' zone.
He pushed it up the right wing boards to Belanger, who threw a
clearing pass up the boards to Laperriere. He headed up left wing,
and once across the Detroit blue line, turned towards the top of the
slot. Laperriere then dropped the puck back to Belanger, who had
Detroit rookie defenseman Pavel Datsyuk coming up right behind him.
Datsyuk got ahead of Belanger, but he went after the puck instead of
concentrating on Belanger. Big mistake. Belanger got his stick on
the puck, and using a fancy pull-and-drag move, faked Datsyuk into
the next county. All alone, Belanger moved in on Hasek, and faked a
shot to freeze the goalie. Belanger then moved the puck to his
backhand, and lifted it over Hasek's left shoulder, beating him top
shelf.
Two outstanding moves by Belanger...one to take advantage of the
rookie Datsyuk, and the other to beat Hasek.
A bad, rookie mistake by Datsyuk gave the Kings this goal. In
hockey, one of the cardinal rules on defense is to take the man, not
the puck in one-on-one situations. Datsyuk forgot that, and got
burned badly.
On the very next shift, Kings' forward Randy Robitaille was stopped
by Hasek on a chance from the goal mouth.
At this point in the game, the Wings were obviously tired, playing
their second game in as many nights, and it showed in their sloppy
third period play. They were fortunate that Hasek was mostly
brilliant.
But then the Kings struck again...
3. LOS ANGELES. Deadmarsh 7 (Allison, Palffy), 10:51
Kings' defenseman Jere Karalahti got the puck at right point. He
passed to Palffy in the right circle. He turned, and wristed the puck
into the left corner, where Deadmarsh chased it down. He passed to
Allison, who was behind the net, and then made a bee-line to the
front of the net. Allison held the puck for a second or two, before
moving behind the left goal post and throwing the puck into the
crease. With two men on his back, Deadmarsh got off a wrist shot,
firing the puck between Hasek's legs before being knocked down.
Good puck movement by the Kings, a nice pass by Allison, and a great
play by Deadmarsh. How he got so much on a little wrist shot from
the crease with two Detroit defenders on his back was rather
incredible.
And very sloppy play by the Detroit defense on this play. Deadmarsh
should have been knocked on his butt, or at least have his stick tied
up with TWO Detroit defenders on him. He should not have been able
to score this goal.
But the Wings would make sure that the Kings' lead did not last
long...
4. DETROIT. Chelios 1 (Steve Duchesne, Brendan Shanahan), 14:27
Duchesne carried the puck into the Kings' zone, moving from the top
of the slot, into the right circle. He then turned back to the top
of the right circle, and passed back to Chelios, who was trailing the
play. From above the top of the slot, Chelios got everything he had
on a one-time blast that beat Potvin through the seven-hole, just
over his left leg pad.
Tough break for Potvin. Chelios' shot went between the legs of
Kings' center Bryan Smolinski, who was standing right in front of
Potvin. Potvin was hopelessly screened, and never saw the shot
coming in.
Overtime
--------
The Kings were unable to score on a power play that carried over from
the third period when Detroit center Kris Draper took a boarding
penalty, hitting Buchberger from behind at 19:24.
But they took advantage of the rookie Datsyuk once again...
5. LOS ANGELES. Palffy 5 (Smolinski, Boucher), 3:33
Datsyuk had the puck at the right outer hashmark, and tried to force
a centering pass, with Boucher right on him. Boucher blocked the
pass, and the puck bounced to Smolinski at the right hashmark. He
immediately threw a no-look, backhand pass up the middle of the ice
to Palffy, who was already heading up ice, behind the defense. On a
breakaway from the Kings' blue line, Palffy headed up the middle of
the ice. In front of Hasek, he deked, getting Hasek to move, and
then put the puck on his forehand and slid it between Hasek's pads
for the goal.
"The second was a little better," Palffy said. "I tried to move him a
little bit. He's such a good goalie, one of the best. He challenges
very well. If you get a breakaway, you have to be quick, decide right
away what you are going to do."
"The breakaway is the biggest chance you can get," Palffy added.
"Dominik is one of the best goalies ever and he really challenges
you. You have to be quick. You never know what he is going to do. You
can't take a lot of time to shoot."
Shots on Goal
-------------
Los Angeles: 7 7 12 3 -- 29
Detroit: 9 10 3 0 -- 22
Power Play Conversions
----------------------
Los Angeles: 0/5; Detroit: 0/3
Zone Time - Unavailable at press time
Three Stars (official)
----------------------
#3 - Hasek; #2 - Eric Belanger; #1 - Palffy
Gann's Three Stars
------------------
#3 - Potvin/Belanger (tie); #2 - Hasek; #1 - Palffy
Despite the fact that the Wings were mostly tired by the third
period, they are so loaded with stars, they ooze talent and skill,
and this was almost enough to get them past the comparatively
blue-collar Kings. As such, coming against the best team in the
league right now, this was a big win for the Kings, and could be the
catalyst that gets them moving in the right direction.
Not only that, but this was the Kings' best performance so far in the
2001-02 season. They played a solid game throughout, and seemed to
get just about everything going, although they clearly missed
defenseman Mathieu Schneider on the power play.
And although Hasek had to make more tough saves, Potvin was just
about equal to the task. He had no chance on either of the goals he
allowed--this was his best performance on the season as well.
Eric Belanger may have played his best game with the Kings, his
performance in Game Four of last season's playoffs against Detroit
(scored the game-winning goal in overtime) notwithstanding. He not
only scored a goal, but won the majority of his face-offs, many of
them against Yzerman, who is one of the better face-off men in the
NHL.
With their best performances of the season, I gave Potvin and
Belanger my #3 star.
Another "best performance" came from Allison, who is starting to show
what he can do. His ability to control the puck, battle hard for the
loose pucks along the boards and in the corners, and set-up his
teammates with good passes was never more apparent since his
acquisition by the Kings than in this game. He also showed that he
might be close to getting his scoring touch back, as he got his best
chances to score a goal since his arrival.
Allison is also on a four-game assist streak.
Next Game: The Kings get another four days off before hitting the
Staples Center ice again on Thursday, when they host Mike Modano and
the Dallas Stars. Game time: 7:30 PM PST. Televised in the Los
Angeles area beginning at 7:00 PM with the "Break the Ice" pre-game
show.
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