What we learned from the Kings’ 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay

The Kings scored on their first shot Monday, but Tampa Bay goalkeeper Ben Bishop wouldn’t be beaten again, making 31 saves as the Lightning won at Staples Center for the first time since George W. Bush left the White House.

Here are some things we learned from the Kings’ 2-1 loss:

The plug has been pulled on the Kings’ power play

The Kings went 0 for 3 with the man advantage Monday and have scored just eight goals on their last 45 power plays over the last 17 games. For the season, they’re converting less than 17% of their power-play opportunities.

“We had our chances,” forward Kyle Clifford said. “We had a couple of power plays and just have to find the back of the net and bear down.”

On the other end, the Kings killed off two penalties lifting their percentage for the season to 83.2%, third-best in the Western Conference.

Roller-coaster ride continues

The Kings haven’t won more than two games in a row since November — and three of their last four wins overall have come in overtime. They’re going to need to build more momentum if they hope to be a serious playoff contender.

“We can get better at our starts to games,” center Trevor Lewis said Monday. “We just started off slow. Once the game started going a little bit, then we got our legs. We’ve got to get back to playing a full 60 minutes.”

Coach Darryl Sutter said he doesn’t see any problem with consistency.

“I don’t feel that,” he said.

Hockey players are … well, different

It’s almost a cliché to say hockey players are tougher than any other athletes — and way tougher than normal people. But sometimes they go out of their way to prove it.

Early in the third period Monday, center Nic Dowd went to the ice after taking a puck to his face. After teammates and trainers rushed to his aid, Dowd spit out his bloodied mouthpiece and struggled to get to the Kings’ bench.

But a couple of minutes later, he was back on the ice. He finished the game with 21 shifts, equaling his most in two months. However, it may be awhile before he’ll eat anything that hasn’t come out of a blender.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

Twitter: kbaxter11