Kings Slow Down Red Wings, 5-3

King goaltender Robb Stauber didn’t need any reminders about the Red Wings’ recent offensive surge. Nevertheless, he kept getting them in the days leading up to Friday’s game here against Detroit.

Not that he needed a refresher. Any goaltender knows when a team scores 28 goals in its last three games.

He realized the Red Wings couldn’t keep scoring goals at that rate and more or less kept them in check during the Kings’ 5-3 victory over Detroit at Joe Louis Arena before a sellout crowd of 19,875. Stauber, who faced 45 shots, received offensive support from the line of left wing Mike Donnelly (three points), center Corey Millen (three points) and right wing Tony Granato (three points).

The Kings (16-6-2) avenged a loss to the Red Wings, which came in their home opener at the Forum.

The Kings were playing without five regulars: Marty McSorley (one-game suspension), Dave Taylor (concussion), Tomas Sandstrom (broken arm), Jim Hiller (strained lower back) and Wayne Gretzky, who is out indefinitely with a herniated thoracic disk. Even defenseman Darryl Sydor was injured late in the second period and didn’t return after he bruised his right hip on an open door on the team’s bench.

Faced with this kind of adversity, the Kings won their fourth consecutive game, giving Barry Melrose a victory in his first NHL game as a coach at Detroit.

“The players knew it was special for me,” said Melrose, who played defense for the Red Wings and coached their minor league team, Adirondack, at Glens Falls, N.Y.

“It’s nice to prove I’m good enough to coach at the NHL level.”

Melrose coached many of the players on Detroit’s current roster when they played for him at Adirondack in the American Hockey League. He was and still is impressed with the talent assembled on the Red Wings’ bench. But the Kings, this time, outworked and outhit Detroit, slowing down their offensive attack with their speedy transition game.

The Kings’ power play turned out to be a major factor as they went three for six with the man advantage. Millen’s line accounted for two of the three power-play goals. Luc Robitaille scored the other for his 20th of the season, giving the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16:07 of the first.

Two of the Red Wings’ goals came at even strength. One of those was Paul Ysebaert’s penalty shot at 4:19 of the second period, which tied the score, 2-2. But Stauber was consoled, figuring the Red Wings weren’t going to hit double figures for the third consecutive game.

“My thought was that it was time for them to cool off,” said Stauber, who is undefeated in eight starts, going 7-0-1.

Not everyone thought this, however. When Stauber and his teammates were flying from Edmonton to Detroit on Thursday, the pilot got on the plane’s intercom and made an announcement.

“He said the stewardesses are going to have to give special treatment to the Kings goalies,” Stauber said. “Because Detroit had scored over 20 goals.”

Stauber wasn’t laughing. In fact, he was even a little irritated.

“I thought, ‘Good one, buddy,’ ” he said.

His teammates must have been listening, knowing that an attacking offense would make it that much easier for Stauber. Millen scored twice, his first (and 10th of the season) breaking the 2-2 tie at 7:58 of the second.

Granato scored to make it 4-2 at 16:52 of the second. The Red Wings pulled within one only 24 seconds into the third, but an unlikely goal by Millen provided the insurance seven minutes later to give the Kings a 5-3 lead.

From the edge of the right circle, Donnelly sent Millen a pass in front. But the pass hit Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom’s stick blade and popped up in the air. Then it hit his glove on the way down. The puck landed in front of Millen, who put it between goaltender Tim Cheveldae’s pads.

The goal was reviewed by video replay and it held up because Millen hadn’t high-sticked the puck into the net. In fact, Millen wasn’t even sure if he got his stick on the puck when it was in the air. By the time it landed, the puck was on the ice and so was Millen’s stick.

Millen’s line is forcing the opposition to pay attention to players other than Robitaille and Jari Kurri.

“The last five or six games, I’m real pleased with our line’s play,” Millen said. “It’s getting better. To be honest, two days ago I was saying to Mike (Donnelly) that I hadn’t played a good, strong game. But the last two games I’ve felt better and better.”