ALL THE RIGHT MOVES CHANGE IS GOOD FOR KINGS, WHO GO FOR 2-0 SERIES LEAD.

Byline: Karen Crouse Staff Writer

DENVER - Jaroslav Modry was so mediocre in the Kings' first two playoff games against Detroit, coach Andy Murray benched him.

An injury to his replacement, Lubomir Visnovsky, gave Modry another chance and he responded by scoring the decisive goal in the Kings' 4-3 overtime win Thursday against Colorado in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

From goat to goal scorer, Modry's metamorphosis embodies the Kings. In two months they've gone from playoff pretender to Stanley Cup contender.

It took some tweaking of their personnel and an overhaul of their overall attitude, but suddenly the Kings are so hot they're scalding their erstwhile critics. They've won a franchise-record five consecutive playoff games. If they extend their streak to six today with a win against the Avalanche in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series at Pepsi Center, they'll send the Western Conference spinning off its Dallas-Colorado axis.

The Kings look so different than they did in late February, when they were eight points out of the final playoff spot, it's obvious they've undergone a facelift. General manager Dave Taylor took the roster and did some painful nip and tucking.

In a two-day stretch, Taylor extended the Kings' season beyond anybody's wildest dreams by adding Vancouver castoff goalie Felix ``The Cat'' Potvin and shipping defenseman Rob Blake and forward Steven Reinprecht to Colorado for forward Adam Deadmarsh and defenseman Aaron Miller.

In his second start, on the day after the Blake trade, Potvin shut out Calgary. He stopped 36 of 38 shots in his next two outings, both victories. The cosmetic change in goal completely changed how the Kings looked at themselves.

Injuries and inertia, respectively, had turned the goaltending corps of Stephane Fiset and Jamie Storr into a blemish the Kings couldn't conceal.

The more they tried to hide it, the worse it got. The Kings felt better about themselves knowing Potvin was back there covering their mistakes. He covered their backsides but good Thursday, collecting 21 of his 34 saves in the second and third periods, when the Kings were having a hard time generating shots of their own.

``Something happened the week we got Felix and Rob got traded,'' said Luc Robitaille, the only current King who was on the 1993 team that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. ``You get great goaltending, you start believing in what you're doing and it just snowballs.''

The Kings are 18-4-5-2 with Potvin tending the net. The Cat has bestowed a second life on a team chock-full of players who were craving another chance.

There's Miller, who was eager to showcase the grit and consistency and leadership that were kept largely under wraps in Colorado. His five-hit, two-blocked-shot performance Thursday against his old team was typical of his play since the trade.

Scott Thomas, a 31-year-old rookie, was recalled from Manitoba of the International Hockey League in March and scored the power-play goal in Game 4 against Detroit that opened the floodgates; the Kings, which had been 0-for-the-postseason with a man advantage to that point, have converted four of their last eight chances.

Defenseman Philippe Boucher, who also spent the majority of the season in Manitoba, has been ``the story of our playoffs,'' Murray said.

As in fairy tale is what Murray means. Boucher takes his man, gets the puck out of the zone and leaves the scoring to everyone from Buchberger (Kelly) to Ziggy (Palffy). All told, 12 Kings have goals in the postseason.

They are the dangerous dozen and then some.

``Everyone is giving an honest effort, giving everything they have, laying it all on the line,'' Robitaille said. ``It doesn't matter to us who gets the points, who scores the goals. Everybody's doing something. This is as good a team as I've played on in terms of team effort.''

--Notes: Rookie center Eric Belanger, who left Thursday's game in the third period with back spasms, ``should be ready'' to play in today's Game 2, Murray said. ... That the Kings needed only one game to wrest home-ice advantage from Colorado after the Avalanche compiled the best regular-season record has to have the Avalanche players ``thinking a little bit,'' Murray said. ... Blake's second-period goal Thursday was the ex-King's seventh point in five playoff games.

NHL PLAYOFFS: KINGS vs. COLORADO

Game 2: Today at noon TV: Ch. 7

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) The Kings' Jaroslav Modry, front, gives Adam Deadmarsh a ride after Modry's game-winner Thursday.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Box: AT A GLANCE: WESTERN SEMIFINALS