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

At least the end didn’t lack drama.

The Kings were given every opportunity to extend their slim playoff chances. Four power plays in the third period. A goal that was gifted to them on a freakish bounce.

They outshot the Arizona Coyotes, 23-5, over the final two periods but the inevitable became reality Sunday with a 2-1 loss at Staples Center.

Here’s what we learned:

The offense is going to have to come from somewhere

The Kings’ big guns, namely Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, were silent for too long, and Jeff Carter carried them for too long this season.

How the team will find offense is uncertain, but it’s past time for the Kings to dip into their system and look at younger players such as Adrian Kempe and Jonny Brodzinski.

After Sunday’s game, Kopitar took full responsibility for his own play and said the one-goal output was a reoccurring theme.

“You can’t expect to win too many games scoring just one goal, especially at home,: he said. There was definitely too many of them this season.”

It goes beyond scoring

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter has repeatedly pointed to relying on goalie Peter Budaj too much when Jonathan Quick went down in the season opener, and that unfortunate turn was cited in the Kings’ dressing room when players assessed the season.

Budaj was outstanding in his career revival, but the Kings needed Quick back earlier so he could steal games like he did last week against the Vancouver Canucks.

Budaj was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and recently acquired Ben Bishop wasn’t the answer to play tandem with Quick.

It was too little too late, in the end.

“Our goalie going down didn’t help,” Drew Doughty said. “There’s a lot of reasons why we’re not in the playoffs, and there isn’t just one that stands out in our minds. There’s a lot of them. It comes down to so many different aspects.

“We knew it would be pretty difficult for us to get in anyway. We left it too late. That’s just the bottom line. We weren’t good enough the entire season, and we don’t deserve, really, to be in the playoffs, so that’s what’s going to happen.”

Give Arizona credit

The Coyotes put a major dent in the Kings’ aspirations last month with an 11-round shootout win at Staples Center, then sank the dagger with Sunday’s triumph.

That’s a show of pride for a team long removed from playoff contention. The Coyotes seemingly tried to give the game away with four minor penalties in the third period, but goalie Mike Smith’s 34 saves helped them weather that.

“He worked hard in practice yesterday, so I had a feeling he was going to give us a good game,” Arizona Coach Dave Tippett said of Smith.