Left-Wing Leanings Not Enough for Kings in Loss

Luc Robitaille got his two points. The Kings didn’t get theirs.

The 38-year-old veteran tied John Bucyk’s NHL record for career points by a left wing, but the Kings fell Saturday to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, their fourth loss in five games during a playoff push that is rapidly decelerating.

The Kings weren’t beaten by Pavel Datsyuk, Brett Hull or Brendan Shanahan. Rather, Jason Williams scored twice in a 3:54 span early in the second period to put Detroit ahead for good in front of a dejected sell-out crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center.

The Kings also beat themselves, forking over the puck at critical times to hand-deliver a couple of Detroit goals. The grind-it-out Kings, it turns out, were trying to be the high-scoring Red Wings.

“Somehow we’ve lost a little bit of our identity,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “I think we got a little fancier with the puck than we normally are.”

Robitaille had a goal and assist to give him 1,369 career points, but the Kings lost for the fourth time in as many games against Detroit this season.

“I really don’t care about those points,” Robitaille said. “We keep beating ourselves. We can’t afford to do that.”

Robitaille tied Bucyk’s record and cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2 after a perfect set-up feed from Trent Klatt at 17:09 of the third period, but the Kings couldn’t score again.

The Kings now trail the St. Louis Blues by two points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Kings have eight games left, St. Louis has seven.

Making things less comfortable for the Kings, they are only one point ahead of rapidly gaining Edmonton for ninth place. The Kings play the Oilers on Monday at Staples Center.

A must-win situation?

“They’re never musts until it’s your last chance, but I call it ‘necessary,’ ” Murray said. “The one tonight was necessary too.... We need to step up.”

The Kings scored first on Alexander Frolov’s 24th goal at 4:25 of the first period. Robitaille was credited with an assist.

But the Red Wings took control with a three-goal outburst in the second period.

Williams wrapped around the net and stuffed a backhand shot between Cristobal Huet’s legs at 1:30 to tie the score, 1-1. He followed it up with a wrist shot from the slot that deflected off King defenseman Tim Gleason and beat a screened Huet at 5:24.

Ray Whitney gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead, stuffing back his own rebound while standing alone in the slot at 17:06 of the second period. The play began on a cross-ice pass by King defenseman Jaroslav Modry that was intercepted.

Before the game, the Kings tried just about everything to stop their slide.

Goaltender Roman Cechmanek was benched in favor of Huet after giving up four goals in two periods Thursday in a 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Martin Straka rejoined the lineup after a two-game exile because of ineffectiveness, joining Jozef Stumpel and Anson Carter on the fourth line. Stumpel had been demoted from the second line, and Carter was almost a healthy scratch, Murray said.

In the end, though, it was just another missed opportunity for the Kings. Now the playoff window is a couple of bad efforts away from sliding shut.