Kings’ fans help make home opener a breeze

There were the typical opening night flourishes, the usual video and audio blasts of power designed to stun the senses or at least jolt them into pregame submission.

But the most impressive sleight of hand, albeit old school, came about an hour later at Staples Center, in the second period Tuesday.

In less than five minutes, the Kings managed to transform an ordinary-looking game, almost January-like, into something special on their way to a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues before a sellout crowd.

Not only did the moving parts start falling into place, they clicked with late-season efficiency, especially the ease between linemates Simon Gagne and Anze Kopitar.

The Kings (3-1-1) went from a team looking like it had been away from home for 16 nights in Europe and the East Coast into an skilled, opportunistic group, ready to capitalize on the Blues’ defensive lapses.

And there were many of those.

The Kings chased one goalie — Jaroslav Halak — from the game early in the third period, and managed to protect their own, Jonathan Quick, helping him secure his 15th career shutout. He faced 27 shots and is one win away from a milestone, 100 career victories

Said Quick: “The first 10 minutes the fans really kind of picked us up. They were into the game and that gave us a lot of energy, a lot of emotion. It’s great to get the kind of support we did there and we built off it the rest of the game.”

Gagne opened the scoring in the first period and added another goal in the third period to make it 5-0, off a clever lob pass from Kopitar.

Kopitar, who had a goal and an assist, was alert all night and could have had at least another goal, hitting the post in the first period.

“It’s good to get the first one and get a lot of goals for the fans,” Gagne said. “I had a couple of chances to get the hat trick at the end, two nice passes by my linemates, but I was not able to finish it. Overall, I’m pretty happy about that first game at home.”

Jarret Stoll and Dustin Brown scored in a quick second-period flurry to turn a 1-0 game into a 3-0 lead, with Brown’s goal coming with a five-on-three advantage. Kopitar has points in all five games this season and Gagne has recorded points in four straight.

The lead-in to the Kings’ Staples Center opener had centered more upon injury-related questions. Defenseman Drew Doughty is out because of an injured right shoulder, suffered in the early stages of the Kings’ victory at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Left wing Dustin Penner did play against the Blues, picking up an assist, after getting reassurances from the team doctor Monday that his injured knee was fit enough for him to go forward.

Doughty’s absence looms large, of course. But stepping into the fray and making his NHL debut was

21-year-old defenseman

Slava Voynov, who was called up from the Kings’ minor league affiliate in Manchester (N.H.) after Doughty’s injury.

Kings Coach Terry Murray had talked glowingly about Voynov the last two days and said he planned on giving him major minutes. He did just that, putting him on the first power-play unit, and in all, Voynov logged nearly 20 minutes of ice time.

“I don’t think he’s going to have a problem, quite honestly,” Murray said earlier in the day. “He’s played at an elite level for his whole life, at home in Russia and playing here in North America. His game has really improved. He was a first All-Star in the American Hockey League last year and he carried that right through in training camp. He showed a great awareness on the ice.”

Voynov was paired with veteran Willie Mitchell, which was a wise choice. The 34-year-old Mitchell chuckled when he was referred to as the “mentor.”

Said Mitchell: “Depends on how you want to angle that. Does it mean I’m getting old? We’ve all been there. I’ve been there.”