Kings Coach Darryl Sutter juggles lines to wake up slumping wingers

Left wing Tanner Pearson nearly was scratched from the Kings’ lineup at St. Louis a few days ago because his overall game had been ineffective. On Friday he practiced on the top line alongside center Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis.

That meant slumping Marian Gaborik (one goal) and Dustin Brown (no goals) were moved to the third line to flank center Nick Shore in Saturday’s game against Florida, Coach Darryl Sutter’s latest attempt to coax some scoring out of his slumping wingers.

“We lost last game and ultimately the only stuff that matters is wins,” Brown said. “Sometimes you mix it up and find something.”

Having Shore as his center could result in better defensive matchups.

“One thing that changes when you go from playing with Kopi to playing with Shoresie is the type of defensemen you’re playing against,” said Brown, who has at least one shot on goal in every game and 48 overall. “I try to take advantage of that personally.”

Pearson played only three third-period shifts Monday at Chicago and was a game-time decision Tuesday at St. Louis. But Pearson elevated his game, scoring a goal against the Blues and becoming the only King with a positive defensive rating Thursday in the team’s 3-2 loss to Columbus.

Sutter praised the 23-year-old forward’s renewed work ethic.

“You have to be able to play the whole game. That’s why there’s boards on the ice and blue lines and red lines so players learn to play in those areas,” Sutter said. “In the St. Louis game … Tanner and Lewie and Shore were our best line. They checked.”

Pearson said he got Sutter’s message.

“You kind of have to deal with that and buckle down,” he said. “I think especially over the past two games I’ve found my game. Checking, I think that’s where my game comes from, especially getting in there and being hard and quick and stuff will come from there.”

Brown was well-rested and in excellent shape after the Kings’ non-playoff finish, but his fitness hasn’t translated into production.

“I never expected to go 13 games or whatever it’s been without a goal,” said Brown, who has scored at least 22 goals five times but has totaled 26 the last two seasons. “The biggest difference is how I feel on the ice. I went stretches the last couple of years where I wasn’t a very good player. And the difference was I wasn’t even getting sniffs. I wasn’t getting shots.…

“It’s very difficult sometimes when you want to score and you’re expected to score and it’s not going in for you to try to keep the rest of your game where it needs to be.”

The changes create a good opportunity for Shore, who scored in the season opener but has been blanked since.

“It’s hard to find two better wingers to play with,” he said. “Playing with two guys of that caliber makes it really easy on me. They’re always talking to you on the ice.”

Friday’s defense pairings hinted at another change, but Sutter advised against reading much into them. Matt Greene, who will miss his 11th straight game Saturday because of an upper-body injury, was paired with Christian Ehrhoff, which could mean a benching for Ehrhoff and his team-worst minus-seven defensive rating. The other duos were Brayden McNabb-Drew Doughty; Jake Muzzin-Alec Martinez; and Derek Forbort-Jamie McBain.

KINGS NEXT UP

VS. FLORIDA

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.

Update: The Panthers are 0-2-2 in their last four games. Right wing Jaromir Jagr, 43, shares the team scoring lead with 10 points. He ranks fifth all-time in the NHL in goals (728), sixth in assists (1,084) and fourth in points (1,812).

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen