ANALYSIS : Something Is Missing From Kings; Could It Be Kasper and Duchesne?

It’s early.

That’s what the Kings say.

That’s what the NHL schedule shows.

That’s what history proves.

Teams that struggle in November shouldn’t necessarily be ruled out of Stanley Cup contention. Ask the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Minnesota North Stars.

But all that said, it is also true that the Kings recently skated past the quarter-pole in the marathon 80-game regular season looking like a team in trouble.

They were 0-4-2 in their last six games before beating the San Jose Sharks, 3-2, in overtime Tuesday night. The Kings’ power-play unit had produced only two goals in its last 31 attempts, ranking 20th in the 22-team NHL, ahead of only the Sharks and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Through 20 games a year ago, the Kings were 15-4-1. This time around, they were 8-7-5. A year ago, they had given up 58 goals through 20 games. This season, they surrendered 79.

And that may be the key number. The 21 more goals the Kings gave up in the first quarter of the season project to 84 more for the entire year.

That would put the Kings at 338 goals, almost exactly where they were two years ago, when Coach Tom Webster, after watching his team give up 337 goals, declared a new era of conservatism for the club. No more run and gun. No more mass charges down the ice, leaving their zone defenseless. No more trying to outshoot the opposition in 6-5 games.

The results were among the most dramatic in King history. The club gave up 83 fewer goals last season, won a team-record 46 games and its first divisional title.

So what happened?

A trade.

Unable to resist the opportunity to reunite Wayne Gretzky with linemate Jari Kurri, the Kings pulled off a complicated three-club deal involving the Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers. The Kings wound up with Kurri and defenseman Jeff Chychrun, giving up center Steve Kasper and defenseman Steve Duchesne.

Kasper was many things to the Kings. He was the key man in their checking line. He was an important part of the penalty-killing unit. And he was the main man in faceoffs.

Duchesne was the team’s leading scorer among defensemen with 21 goals and 62 points last season. He was the best defenseman at carrying the puck. And he was a point man on the power play.

Without Kasper and Duchesne, the Kings have suffered.

At 22, John McIntyre can’t match the experience of the veteran Kasper on the checking line. And the Kings’ other checking center, Randy Gilhen, has yet to show Kasper’s versatility.

The power play has been hampered by the lack of a dependable, consistent point man such as Duchesne. Time and time again, the Kings skate through a power play chasing the puck, instead of shooting it.

And the defense has been crippled by injuries to Rob Blake, Chychrun and Charlie Huddy, who was obtained in another off-season trade to bolster the thin line at the blue line.

At trade time, the Kings conceded that they would have some holes to fill, but insisted that the risk was worth taking to get a line of Gretzky, Kurri and Tomas Sandstrom.

Heralded as one of the greatest in hockey history before the season began, the line had a flashy debut opening night in Winnipeg with a hat trick by Kurri. But it quickly disappeared because it was decided that the three were too similar in style to skate together.

Although he has played both ends of the ice and excelled as a defensive forward, Kurri, has only three more goals since that opening game.

But Kurri has had plenty of company. It has been a miserable quarter for Gretzky. He limped into the regular season, plagued by a back injury he suffered in the Canada Cup. And then his father, Walter, suffered an aneurysm in the brain, leaving the younger Gretzky intent on matters more important than hockey.

Gretzky struggled after his return and produced only five goals and 17 points in the first 20 games. He says he is more disappointed in himself over the last 10 days than at any point in his career.

Sandstrom, who tied Luc Robitaille with a team-high 45 goals last season, has only five, and three of those have been scored on power plays.

In goal a year ago, the Kings had two reliable performers, Kelly Hrudey and backup Daniel Berthiaume. Each won 20 games, a first for the Kings.

Berthiaume’s numbers are down this season. He recently gave up three goals on four shots in Winnipeg, then got blasted the next night in Vancouver, giving up five more goals before getting yanked midway through the second period.

In 1990, the Kings strived for stability. No coaching changes. No big trades.

It had taken the 24 years to learn that lesson.

And, apparently, only one year to forget it.