Blake Up to Task for Kings

Defenseman Rob Blake should get a videotape of the Kings’ 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings and have it archived.

With the Kings in desperate need of a win and playing without leading scorer Jozef Stumpel and veterans Luc Robitaille and Garry Galley, Blake basically put the team on his back and carried it to an unlikely victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions before 15,718 Saturday afternoon at the Great Western Forum.

Blake scored goals in the first and second periods and then made several key defensive plays in the third to help the Kings end a winless streak at three games and finish with a 2-1-1 edge over the Red Wings in their season series.

“He was dominant, especially right near the end when he made two or three game-saving plays where he intercepted the puck,” King Coach Larry Robinson said of Blake, who scored two goals in a game for the ninth time in his career and now leads NHL defensemen with 17 goals.

Blake, who spent a game-high 27 minutes 52 seconds on the ice, led a depleted King team that played with the same type of toughness that had carried it for most of the season.

Despite having Stumpel on injured reserve because of a bruised kidney, Robitaille sidelined at least six weeks after hernia surgery, and Galley out of town for personal reasons, the Kings were able to shut down the high-scoring Red Wings.

“We showed that we can stick together and have guys step up when we have guys like Stumpel and Luc out,” said goaltender Stephane Fiset, who made 30 saves in his first start after missing two games because of a groin/hamstring injury.

“After the last few games when we didn’t play that well, we came out and played great. We had guys like Lappy [Ian Laperriere], Dan Bylsma and Blakie make big defensive plays for us at the end.”

The Kings set the tone early with an aggressive forechecking shift from Glen Murray, Vladimir Tsyplakov and Yanic Perreault, who filled in for Stumpel at center on the team’s most productive line.

The Kings successfully killed off two Detroit power plays before Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood gave Blake a gift goal at 16:33 of the first period. With the Kings making a line change, Blake fired a shot from near the red line that deflected off Osgood’s stick into the net.

“I was just shooting it on net. We had broken up a couple of plays and we were a little tired [and] just looking for a [line] change,” Blake said. “I was a little bit more worried about icing than anything.”

Osgood, who finished with 25 saves, was as mystified by the goal as was Blake.

“It hit the blade of my stick flat and just skidded right up the fat part of my stick,” he said. “It went right over my ears, I was like . . . [helpless].’

Blake put the Kings ahead, 2-0, at 5:14 of the second period when he scored on a power play from the right point. It was his fourth goal in four games and sixth in his last nine.

Detroit, which has the top penalty-killing unit in the league, closed within a goal later in the period when Steve Yzerman scored on a four-on-four situation at 12:15.

Instead of getting cautious and trying to protect a 2-1 lead, the Kings continued to pressure the Red Wings whenever possible.

“The effort was there . . . we were fighting for the puck, which is half the battle,” Robinson said.

In the third period, the Kings made one solid defensive stance after another against the Red Wings, who had good scoring chances by Nicklas Lidstrom, Igor Larionov and Yzerman stopped by Fiset.

When it wasn’t Fiset holding fast, it was Blake, who stopped two crucial Red Wing rushes in the game’s final minutes.

“When you’ve got your leading scorer out of the lineup, it’s up to other guys to step it up, and certainly Blakie stepped it up,” Robinson said.

“This was a huge win because we had [players missing] and we lost one that maybe we should have won [Thursday against Carolina]. Detroit is a heck of a club and you never know where you may end up in the standings. . . . We could meet these guys in the playoffs.”

If the Kings were to face Detroit in the playoffs, they will have the Red Wings’ attention.

“[The Kings] are a team that likes to hit a lot and they are playing a real solid style this season,” Osgood said. “They’re a real good team.”