KINGS INSIDE LOOK: IT WAS SIMPLY ASTONISHING HISTORICAL VICTORY FOR KINGS.

Byline: Karen Crouse Staff Writer

The Miracle on Manchester is ancient history. It was supplanted in Kings lore Wednesday night.

The most amazing thing about the final frenetic minutes of Game 4 between the Kings and the Detroit Red Wings wasn't that the Kings scored three unanswered goals in the final 6 minutes, 7 seconds of the third period to force overtime and prevailed in the end 4-3. No, the most astonishing thing was that the first two of their series-turning goals came with the Kings holding a man advantage.

In the playoffs, the Kings' power play had been the power-outage play. They were scoreless in 50 power plays dating back to 1998, when Detroit's Martin Lapointe was sent to the penalty box for slashing with 6 minutes, 17 seconds left and the Red Wings cruising to a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.

Scott Thomas changed the Kings' luck and the entire complexion of this series when he deflected the puck past Chris Osgood in the 55th minute.

The crowd of 18,478, which had grown so quiet you could hear the scattered boos, erupted in cheers when Thomas' shot tripped the flashing red light. It was deja vu less than three minutes later when Lapointe returned to the penalty box after being whistled for interference on Mathieu Schneider.

Fifty-five seconds into the man advantage, the Kings' Jozef Stumpel deflected a shot past Chris Osgood and the crowd got so loud it probably shook the banners inside Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, where the Kings and Detroit are headed for Saturday's Game 5.

Schneider, who didn't practice Tuesday because of a sore leg, assisted on Bryan Smolinski's goal with 53 seconds left, which sent the game into overtime and set up rookie Eric Belanger's series-saver at 2:36.

``I remember the Miracle on Manchester,'' on April 10, 1982, said Ian Laperriere, who collected the first assist on Belanger's score. ``I don't know if (tonight) was a miracle, but I know we didn't quit.''

Some of the fans in the sellout crowd gave up on the Kings after they yielded three power-play goals to the Red Wings in the first 23 minutes.

``I saw a couple of empty seats,'' Laperriere said, grinning. ``Too bad for the people who left early.''

In the final 6 minutes, 17 seconds, the Kings outshot the Red Wings 9-1.

``It's going to be hard to come down from this,'' Laperriere said. ``We're going to have to. It's a zero-zero series now.''

Wayne Gretzky was a King the last time the team came back from a three-goal deficit to force an overtime period. It was in the third game of the Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal, and the Kings ended up losing that one, 2-1.

By scripting a different ending on Wednesday, the Kings turned this series from a predictable read into a page turner. For sure what unfolded Wednesday will be part of the Kings' oral history for years to come.

``Between the second and third periods, I told the team, I'm tired of hearing about Dave Taylor and those guys,'' coach Andy Murray said. ``They had their miracle (in 1982). Let's have ours.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Jozef Stumpel of the Kings is pushed from behind by the Red Wings' Larry Murphy Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box: (1) EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF GLANCE

(2) WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF GLANCE