Wings’ King solid in NHL debut

He received the call at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, flew from Albany, N.Y., to Detroit and arrived at Joe Louis Arena at 6:30 p.m., one hour before game time. He had to be on the ice for pre-game warm-ups at 6:50 p.m.

Approximately an hour and a half later, former University of Maine goalie Scott King was making his NHL debut for the Detroit Red Wings against the New Jersey Devils.

One of the first shots he faced came off the stick of his former Black Bear teammate, defenseman Eric Weinrich.

“I was being screened on their power play so I went down to look for the puck,” explained King. “Eric’s shot went over my head, hit the crossbar and deflected into the crowd.”

King, who relieved Dave Gagnon with 5:03 left in the first period of the eventual 6-2 loss, finished the game with 9 saves on 11 shots.

He was the back-up goalie behind Alain Chevrier, who was called up from San Diego, in Wednesday’s game at Minnesota.

“I felt good out there,” said King about his pro debut. “I felt confident. I was happy with the way things went. I thought I played pretty well. The players came up to me after the game and told me I had played well.”

King began his first pro season with Adirondack of the AHL but struggled and was sent to Hampton Roads (Va.) of the East Coast Hockey League where he played well and regained his confidence. He was returned to Adirondack where he went 4-1 before being called up to replace the flu-ridden Tim Cheveldae on Monday. King said he wasn’t disappointed that he wasn’t getting the start against Minnesota.

“I’m just hoping to get a start while I’m here,” said King. “And then I hope to show that I deserve another start.”

King said he has a couple of good practices with the Red Wings.

“I don’t feel out of place and that’s a good feeling,” said the 23-year-old King, who concluded his four-year University of Maine career with a 66-26-4 record, a 3.14 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage. “The goalie coach (Phil Myre) has been really positive.”

King said he has been working on “little things” with Myre.

“He’s been trying to get me to go down a little bit more,” said King, who has always been a stand-up goalie. “Sometimes you have to on screened shots and power play stuff.”

He realizes he could be sent back down to Adirondack very soon but he isn’t bothered by it.

“I’m just going to wait and see what happens and hope I get an opportunity,” said King.