KINGS NOTEBOOK: LAPERRIERE HOPES TEAM GETS SMARTER.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Kings center Ian Laperriere is the most penalized player on one of the league's most penalized teams.

But Laperriere said Wednesday that eliminating the problem should be the Kings' top priority when they start training camp in September.

``It killed us in this series and made things much more difficult during the regular season than they had to be,'' Laperriere said. ``How come the Red Wings know when to take penalties and when not to? Composure. That's what we need to learn.''

Laperriere also said the team needs to play smarter and know when not to take the bad penalties that come on offense in the other team's zone.

``Stopping a scoring chance makes sense,'' Laperriere said. ``But when they come when we have the puck in their end, bad things seem to happen.''

Wednesday, such a play by the Kings led to Detroit's first goal. Jozef Stumpel cross-checked Chris Chelios in the Detroit zone as the two tried to dig the puck out of the corner. Pat Verbeek scored 1:07 later.

Not all bad penalties happen in the opposing end.

The Kings were still stinging from the cross-checking penalty by Rob Blake in the first period of Monday's Game 3 that led to a five-on-three situation. Less than 30 seconds later, Sergei Fedorov scored Detroit's first goal.

``When a team is in a five-on-three disadvantage, there isn't much you can do,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said. ``We needed to keep a better check on our composure than we have in this series.''

Murray, however, would not criticize Blake, who was one of the league's top defensemen all season. Blake is the Kings captain, and though he is not a vocal player, he sets the tone for the rest of the club.

``I don't think that play is what he will be remembered for,'' defensemate Mattias Norstrom said. ``This series was a team thing, just like the regular season. I have not talked to Rob about how he is feeling, but I don't see that in his game. We have all been in this together.''

--Power-play blues: Blake also is the point man on a power play that was scoreless in its first 18 attempts against Detroit. Monday night, the Kings were 0 for 7. During a four-minute power play called on a Darren McCarty misconduct penalty in the second period Monday, 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 7 for 21, including both goals Monday and the first two Wednesday.

``We like to think we've made strides this season,'' Murray said. ``And you look at things like shots on goals and scoring chances in this series, and there isn't much the same. They did their damage on the power play. We definitely need to improve that.''