FACING A COLD REALITY KINGS IN TROUBLE, AND THEY KNOW IT.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

The Kings weren't supposed to beat the Detroit Red Wings. The thinking was if they won a game or two, the Kings could look back at their season as an overwhelming success and the start of something special.

But on the brink of elimination in just four games, Kings coach Andy Murray is questioning that theory. Certainly a victory tonight in Game 4 at Staples Center would give the players a boost. The Kings have dropped 11 consecutive playoff games dating back to 1993.

It is not so certain what kind of team the Kings will have when they reach training camp next September. There is an expansion draft this summer. Players are at the end of contracts.

``I've heard a lot about how this is all part of the process, and how we are building toward the future,'' Murray said. ``But I'm not sure if this isn't our best chance to win is now.''

Murray might just be trying one last motivational tool on his players during an almost impossible situation. Only two teams in NHL playoff history have come back from 0-3 deficits, the 1943 Toronto Maples Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders.

A more immediate concern has been the poor series of top players Rob Blake and Glen Murray.

Murray, the second-leading goal scorer this season (29), has been shut down completely by the Red Wings.

More alarming is Blake, the team captain and best player who appears overwhelmed by the pressure of carrying a team that has been to the playoffs just twice in the last seven years.

He is the point man on a power play that is scoreless in 16 attempts against Detroit. Monday night, the Kings were 0 for 7. During a four- minute power play after a Darren McCarty misconduct penalty in the second period, the Kings had just one shot on goal.

Two years ago, in a first-round sweep by St. Louis, the Blues were 8 for 36 on the power play, the Kings 1 for 29. This year, the Red Wings are 5 for 19, including both goals Monday.

Blake's inability to jump-start the power play was compounded in Game 3 by his cross-checking penalty on Tomas Holmstrom at the 4:59 mark of the first period. Blake's shot to Holmstrom's neck was in retaliation for Holmstrom's cross check just moments earlier.

But it gave Detroit a 5 on 3 advantage and Sergei Fedorov scored just 22 seconds later.

Only Holmstrom's earlier action, and some play acting on Blake's hit, is expected to spare Blake from disciplinary action.

``I'm sure the guys who took the retaliation penalties last night went home and said what the heck was I doing,'' Murray said. ``We all take responsibility for what is going on in this series and the bottom line is it is very frustrating.''

Throughout the series, the Kings have been able to point to the close scores with some pride. After all, they were playing Detroit, which finished with 108 points during the regular season and has won two of the last three Stanley Cups.

``They are a great team, they play well together and that is why they have won the Stanley Cup,'' Luc Robitaille said Tuesday. ``They don't beat themselves. That is something we have to learn; we have 24 to 30 hours.''

But even the Red Wings can be vulnerable. After sweeping the Mighty Ducks in the first round last season, Detroit took the first two games against Colorado in the next round. Starting goaltender Chris Osgood injured a knee, but the Red Wings jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Game 3. Then Fedorov fired a shot that hit the post. The Red Wings lost the game and the next three.

Is there a way the Kings could make it happen again? Surprisingly, a voice from the Red Wings bench says anything is possible.

Detroit assistant Dave Lewis, a former King who scored a goal in the famous 1982 ``Miracle on Manchester'' playoff game vs. Edmonton, played for the Islanders in 1975 when they came back to beat Pittsburgh.

``You break it down and keep it simple,'' he said. ``You have to win all the little battles. It starts from the first faceoff and goes to the next faceoff. It's a challenge to the players and it's a challenge to the team. But that is the only way to do it.''

KINGS vs. DETROIT

Best-of-seven series

(Red Wings lead 3-0)

When: Tonight, 7 p.m.

Where: Staples Center

TV: Fox Sports Net

KINGS vs. DETROIT

Time: 7 p.m. at Staples Center.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net, KRLA-AM (1110)

Matchup: The Red Wings are going for their third consecutive series sweep in the first round. They swept the Mighty Ducks the last two years. . . . The Kings have dropped 11 consecutive playoff games. Their last victory came in Game 1 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal. Kings Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake played in that game. Goaltender Stephane Fiset, the Kings' top player in the series, will start tonight. He has allowed eight goals in the series, including five in Game 2 when he was pulled in favor of Jamie Storr. But Fiset, who ended the regular season 5-0-1 after coming back from a groin strain, has kept the Kings in every game.

- Matt McHale

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2 boxes

Box:

(1) Kings vs. Detroit best of seven series (see text)

(2) Kings vs. Detroit (see text)