Kings learn a pointed lesson in 4-3 shootout loss

Reporting from Denver

The Kings left town with a point and a lesson after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday at a half-empty Pepsi Center.

They had forced overtime on power-play goals by Drew Doughty 40 seconds into the third period and Alexander Frolov in the slot with 1 minute 21 seconds left, a strong push that made up for an unlucky and undisciplined first period.

Erik Ersberg, who relieved Jonathan Quick 18:08 into the game, nearly rescued them by stopping all 14 shots he saw before the shootout. In the tiebreaker, he saved Milan Hejduk’s backhander before carrying Peter Mueller’s shot back over the line with him and yielding a five-hole goal to Chris Stewart, while Colorado’s Craig Anderson stopped Anze Kopitar, was beaten by Jack Johnson and watched Ryan Smyth clang a shot off the crossbar.

Ersberg made an exceptional effort in his first appearance since Feb. 11 and he seemed to give his teammates the spark Coach Terry Murray sought after Quick gave up three goals on 16 shots.

But the Kings knew they shouldn’t have put themselves in so deep a hole. Since the Olympic break, they only sporadically have shown the poise and smarts that had fueled them for so much of the season, and the absence Wednesday of defenseman Matt Greene -- out because of an upper-body injury -- didn’t help their penalty killing or overall defensive play.

“Everything went wrong in the first,” center Jarret Stoll said of a period that included the first power-play goal the Kings had given up in 30 disadvantages and ended with Colorado leading, 3-1.

“We just took over the game in the third and showed how we can play. That’s how we have to play. We showed glimpses of that. It would be nice to start games like that and start periods like that, and we’ve just got to get back to that.”

The Kings remain fifth in the West with 90 points. Colorado and Nashville are each a point behind and Detroit is three back in eighth.

“It’s good to get away with one point, at least,” said Ersberg, who is scheduled back up Quick tonight at St. Louis.

Colorado scored at 7:38, when Matt Hendricks threw the puck in front of the net and it bounced off Johnson and past Quick. The Kings matched that at the 10-minute mark, when Kopitar was credited with deflecting the rebound of a shot by Wayne Simmonds for his career-best 33rd goal.

Things started to unravel for the Kings when Brad Richardson got a double-minor at 12:42 for high-sticking Scott Hannan in the mouth, though Richardson said his stick had been lifted by a Colorado player. The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead on Hejduk’s one-timer from the left circle and made it 3-1 when Paul Stastny’s centering pass was deflected by Doughty, who had grabbed Michal Handzus’ stick after his own broke.

Murray said he was trying to shake things up when he took Quick out but said Quick wasn’t at his peak.

“I need some stops there,” Murray said of Colorado’s power-play goals. “I need that one on that one-timer and I know a couple came to the net off our own players but that’s hockey and you have to be alert on those.

“I’m not upset with him. I just need him to be a little bit more aware and a little sharper.”

That goes for the entire team.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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