Kings Have a Bleak-Tie Affair

But after giving away caps on opening night at Staples Center, they gave away a four-goal lead and the game when Jochen Hecht finished off a St. Louis flurry with a goal at 19:27 of the third period of a 4-4 tie before an announced 18,118.

The Blues didn't have any advantage at all, scoring all four of their goals at even strength.

"We didn't play at all until the first 10 minutes of the third period," St. Louis Coach Joel Quenneville said.

It was enough.

"I think we hit the wall physically," King Coach Andy Murray said. "When you hit the wall physically and think you've got the game won, that's when they kick you in the teeth. And that's just how I feel: kicked in the teeth."

Arena management took away a wheelbarrow full of caps for another day in the second period after many of the fans littered the ice with them in tribute to Luc Robitaille's goal, which earned him his 1,000th point as a King.

It was No. 3 of four power-play goals the Kings rang up in fashioning a 4-0 lead, No. 2 of three in the second period alone.

"It was going to come eventually," said Robitaille, happy for delighting the opening-night crowd, if for only a while.

"This is disappointing. We had those guys where we wanted them."

And the Blues got away.

The Kings being the Kings, at least against St. Louis, no edge is safe. Two goals by Scott Young and one by Pavol Demitra, all coming within 4:27, kept the issue in doubt, and Hecht's goal turned victory into a tie, euphoria into a downer.

It also turned a cheering sellout throng into one that booed unanimously before going silently into the night.

"This one hurts," Murray said. "The big disappointment and what we talked about after the game is the people who pay the bills around here had an opportunity to stand up and cheer after 40 minutes and they went home not very happy."

After the lead, earned on power-play goals by Mathieu Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Robitaille and Ziggy Palffy, everything stopped for the Kings.

And started for the St. Louis offense, which took advantage of Jamie Storr's misplay to earn Demitra's goal 1:15 into the final period.