GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The Phoenix Coyotes' play under coach Wayne Gretzky has been anything but stellar so far. Since it's only the pre-season, The Great One isn't too concerned.
Gretzky stepped behind the Phoenix bench for the first time Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough as the Coyotes lost 8-4 to the Los Angeles Kings.
''Sure we're disappointed with that beating, and there's things we've got to work on, but this is not losing in (playoff) Game 7 or losing in game one of the regular season,'' he said. ''This is just what it is, folks - it's an exhibition game - and 10 days from now it means nothing.''
Craig Conroy and Valeri Bure scored two goals each and Pavol Demitra had a goal and three assists to lead the Kings.
Gretzky drew generous applause from a sparse crowd announced at 7,219 when he came out of the tunnel before the first period. It was his first time in the bench area during a game since he retired from the New York Rangers in 1999.
Gretzky paced from side to side in the coaches' row before the game, but settled down after the first puck was dropped.
''He's a fiery guy,'' captain Shane Doan said. ''The way he played is the way he coached, and you love that as a player to know that your coach is on your side and is into the game as much as you are.''
Associate coach Barry Smith, who acted as head coach during a 3-2 home win Friday over Minnesota and a 7-0 road loss to the Wild on Saturday, stayed in charge of the defence. Gretzky watched the first two games from suite level, analyzing the strengths of a team with a half-dozen key newcomers.
Among them was goaltender Curtis Joseph, whose importance to the club increased when Brian Boucher hurt himself trying to make a stop in a shootout demonstration for fans after the pre-season opener.
The injury is a first-degree strain - the least serious - of Boucher's right groin. He is listed as week to week, but Coyotes general manager Mike Barnett said Boucher could be out for weeks or more.
''That type of injury at that position is one you don't even think about hurrying along,'' Barnett said.
Gretzky alluded to Boucher when he explained that he sat left wing Mike Leclerc, acquired in a trade with Anaheim on Aug. 23, the last two periods after Leclerc got a slight groin pull.
''We're probably a little more sensitive to those scenarios since guys didn't play last year, so I told him not to play the second and third,'' Gretzky said. ''It's just precautionary.''
David LeNeveu gave up all seven goals in the loss at Minnesota.
Enter Joseph, ninth on the NHL career list in wins (396) after 15 years with St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto and Detroit, who signed with Phoenix on Aug. 17. He allowed eight goals in 24 shots against the Kings.
''I made some miscalculations out there and certainly didn't find the open guy like I should,'' Joseph said. ''Certainly, you'd like to shake that one off and play again tomorrow.''
Gretzky wasn't worried about the goalie whose tenure overlapped the last nine years of his career.
''It's the easiest thing in the game of hockey, and I was a player, that you always turn back and try to blame the goaltender,'' Gretzky said. ''There's no excuse there. Curtis will be fine. It's not Curtis' fault that we got beat 8-4.''
Bure, Conroy and Sean Avery gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead midway through the second period.
The Coyotes narrowed the gap when Ladislav Nagy went top shelf over Mathieu Garon's shoulder with 4:39 left in the second, but the Kings got their fourth power play of the game immediately after when Sean O'Donnell slammed Tim Gleason into the glass from behind after Gleason went after Petr Nedved for dumping Garon into the back of the net.
Conroy's goal on the power play made it 4-2 with 2:16 left in the period.
Shane Doan and Jason Chimera scored 1:09 apart to tie it at 4, but Joseph couldn't hold it. The Kings answered with goals by Visnovsky, Demitra and Michael Cammalleri in a 51-second span.