KINGS NOTEBOOK: FISET WILL REMAIN AS STARTER.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - With his team on the cusp of a playoff collapse, Kings coach Andy Murray is careful to avoid any appearance of panic or desperation heading into tonight's Game 3 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Goaltender Stephane Fiset will retain his starting job, even though he allowed five goals in less than two periods in Saturday's 8-5 loss, and Murray insists that the Kings need only to remain confident and avoid the type of mental mistakes that buried them in Game 2.

``I think the biggest positive out of our whole scenario here, and it may sound like a negative, but we have a number of players who can still play better,'' Murray said after Sunday's practice. ``These have been two very competitive games with the Red Wings, and as a coach, it's a positive to know that we still have more to give.''

Murray quickly ended any speculation that Jamie Storr would start in goal, citing Fiset's strong play against Detroit throughout the year and his ability to rebound from a bad game. In the Kings' 1998 first-round playoff loss to St. Louis, Fiset struggled and was benched in favor of Storr by then-coach Larry Robinson.

``I'm not playing the same way I did two years ago,'' Fiset said. ``I don't even think about two years ago, because I'm a better goalie right now and I can endure more of the pressure and handle it when I have a bad game.

``After the fifth goal (Saturday), Andy said, `I'm going to pull you and put Jamie in,' and that was fine with me, because I wasn't doing the job and we were still in the game.''

Murray and several of the Kings were quick to take the bulk of the blame off Fiset and profess total confidence in their goalkeeper.

``We were watching `Saving Private Ryan' on the plane,'' Ian Laperriere said, ``and it's not funny, but you know how in the first few minutes they come out on the boats and there's all this shooting? Well, somebody said that it looked like Stephane Fiset in the first five minutes.''

--Playing with fire: The Kings took six penalties without allowing a power-play goal in Game 1, but the Red Wings got revenge on Saturday with goals on three of their seven extra-man opportunities. Detroit had the league's best power-play unit in the regular season, and it's no secret that the Kings will not succeed if they can't stay out of the penalty box.

The Kings were upset with the officiating in Game 2, in particular a holding call against Mattias Norstrom midway through the second period. The Kings had fought back to within one goal, but Nicklas Lidstrom scored on the power play for a 7-5 lead.

``There seems to be a difference (in calls) in who gets hit,'' Murray said. ``If Sergei Federov gets hit by one of our guys, it's a charge, but Matty Norstrom and some of our defensemen who pay the price all the time and don't ever dive, like Federov does, there's no penalties called.

``You can certainly tell there's a difference in who's being hit.''

KINGS vs. DETROIT

Time: 7 p.m., at Staples Center.

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

Matchup: The Kings know they need a strong start in front of the home fans, especially since they have not held a lead in either game of the series. Coach Andy Murray expects to make only one lineup change, the addition of Aki Berg on defense. The Kings have now lost 10 consecutive playoff games, with their last victory coming in Game 1 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal.

- Rich Hammond

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Box: Kings vs. Detroit (see text)