Kings Escape From Detroit With a 3-3 Tie

DETROIT — If there ever was a tie that felt like a win, the Kings had one Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

After spotting Detroit a two-goal first-period lead and then a 3-1 lead going into the third period, the Kings rallied to earn a 3-3 tie and extend their unbeaten streak to four games before 19,983 at Joe Louis Arena.

“Two or three weeks ago, this is a point we do not get,” said Ray Ferraro, whose third-period goal cut the Red Wings’ lead to 3-2. “This is a big point for us because not too many teams can come in this building, fall behind by two goals and finish with a tie.”

The Kings, who are 3-0-1 in their last four games, actually came within an inch from stealing a win at the end of regulation when a last-second shot by Ferraro bounced off the left post and then off the arm of Detroit goalie Chris Osgood.

“Eddie [Olczyk] made a great play by chasing down the puck and then putting it right on the tape [of my stick],” Ferraro said. “All I heard was the clang of the post and then the buzzer. I was kind of hoping that it had fallen back into the net.”

It didn’t and the Kings had to settle for a tie against a Detroit team that already had shut them out twice this season. Thanks to goals from their two hottest-scoring players, Dimitri Khristich and Kevin Stevens, and Ferraro, the Kings go into tonight’s game at Toronto tied with San Jose and Calgary for fifth place in the Pacific Division with 38 points.

“Despite getting down, we kept doing what we had in winning three games at home,” said Khristich, who was named to the all-star team earlier in the day in place of injured teammate Rob Blake. “We kept playing smart on defense and kept going hard to the goal. That’s what did it.”

Goaltender Stephane Fiset, who is 2-0-1 in his last three starts, made 28 saves as the Kings overcame second-period injuries to defensemen Doug Zmolek and Steven Finn and kept the Red Wings scoreless in their final 16 shots on goal.

“It was just a gutsy effort on our part,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “In losing those first two games [against Detroit], we had only 34 shots combined, so we knew we had to get some traffic going for rebounds [against Osgood].”

Finn, who was playing in his first game since suffering a back injury on Jan. 2, was responsible for Detroit’s first goal. From the Kings’ zone, his pass was picked off by Detroit left wing Tomas Holmstrom, who beat Fiset to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 3:48 of the first period.

Detroit’s second goal came after the Kings kept them scoreless for a 1:40 two-man advantage power play. Seven seconds after the Kings returned to even-strength, center Greg Johson put the Red Wings ahead, 2-0, when he took in an assist from Martin LaPointe and scored from the crease at 8:14.

Trailing by two goals, the Kings started the second period more aggressively and scored when Khristich knocked in a rebound at 1:15 to cut Detroit’s lead to 2-1.

It was Khristich’s fourth goal in his last three games and the Kings’ first against Osgood and the Red Wings in more than 141 minutes this season.

The Kings again fell behind by two goals at the end of the second period when Brendan Shanahan scored his 25th goal of the season, on a power-play, to give Detroit a 3-1 lead at 18:28.

“We thought that we should have been better off after two periods, but the guys hung in there,” said Stevens, who has four goals in his last four games. “We didn’t quit and we really worked hard until we finally tied the thing up.”

After killing an early two-minute penalty on Stevens, the Kings cut the Red Wings’ lead to one on Ferraro’s goal at 3:36. Ferraro skated down the right side and beat Osgood from the crease with a backhand shot for his team-leading 15th goal of the season.

The Kings then tied it when Stevens whacked in a rebound of a shot by Ian Laperriere at 8:20.

“We [are playing] with confidence now,” said defenseman Aki Berg, who has given the Kings a boost since being called up from the minors four games ago. “We have to now keep it going.”