Kings' skid is source of anger

Kings’ skid is source of anger

By Lisa Dillman

Oct. 15, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Mirror, mirror on the Kings’ wall.

Not only did it show a team in the midst of a free fall -- the Kings have lost five straight games, including Sunday night’s to Detroit -- there were additional, more telling flaws.

“I think we’re fooling ourselves if we think we’re doing it. We have to look in the mirror and say we’re pretending,” said Michael Cammalleri after the Red Wings defeated the Kings, 4-1, at Staples Center in front of an announced crowd of 17,215.

Pretend hockey was not going to work.

Not against a team possessing the firepower of a No. 1 line -- Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg -- that dismantled the Kings’ top unit of Cammalleri, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown in the third period when the game was on the line.

Datsyuk had a goal and two assists, Zetterberg scored once and added two assists and Holmstrom scored once, finishing off a three-on-two at 5:39 of the third period to make it 3-1, and added an assist.

There were the usual Kings miscues resulting in opponent’s goals, a constant theme since the season-opening win against the Ducks.

Defenseman Brad Stuart couldn’t control the bouncing puck at the point, leading to a short-handed goal by Detroit’s Kris Draper in the second period. The Red Wings’ last goal went in off Kings defenseman Rob Blake’s leg. Blake was a minus-three.

Cammalleri has been the lone, consistent source of offense. He scored his sixth goal of the season, with the Kings holding a five-on-three man advantage, at 1:44 of the third period, cutting Detroit’s lead to 2-1.

He was visibly angry after the game.

“I don’t think we have a choice, really, how to get out of this,” Cammalleri said. “The question is, is it pretending you’re doing it or actually doing it? We’ve got to play as a team. We’ve got to have a structure. We’ve got to stick to it, to a man, to play, to a shift, to a period, to a game.

“We have no other choice, at this point. That’s extremely evident. It’s one thing to think you’re doing it. It’s one thing to fool yourself you’re doing it. It’s another thing to do it.”

The structure has been as flimsy as a house of cards. Proof is giving up 22 goals in a four-game span.

“It’s not good enough,” Cammalleri said. “The other teams are too good. They’re doing what they want to do for 60 minutes. We’re doing what we want to do for 40 or 45. There’s a lot of time for them to expose us, and that’s what you’re seeing.”

Meanwhile, Kings Coach Marc Crawford continued to preach his mantra of staying the course.

He heard what he wanted from rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier on Saturday, after a sub-par performance on Friday against the Boston Bruins, and put the 19-year-old back in goal.

Bernier was not the problem Sunday. But at what point do the Kings risk demoralizing the youngster and clouding his bright future?

“We don’t have the luxury of being demoralized,” Crawford said. “Certainly it hurts. It hurts our fans. We know that and we know how much they’re struggling with our group right now. We have to believe doing the right things will ultimately pay the good dividends.

“That’s the same with our young defensemen, the young forwards, the same with our goaltender. We don’t make knee-jerk reactions.”

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