Sabres Stick It to Kings, 8-2 : Hockey: Andreychuk scores four goals against a defense that is barely there without injured Coffey and Blake.

Who says the NHL players won’t go on strike?

Twenty of them already have.

At least that’s the way it looked Thursday night at the Forum where the Buffalo Sabres, led by Dave Andreychuk’s four goals and Pat LaFontaine’s six points, blew out the Kings, 8-2, before a crowd of 16,005, the 63rd straight regular-season sellout.

That’s not to demean the offensive skills of the Sabres, which are considerable. Buffalo has scored 261 goals, most in the Adams Division.

But Thursday night, they found themselves unchecked in the Kings’ crease time and again.

“When you are outskated, outworked, outscored and out-determined, this is what happens, “ said an incensed Tom Webster, the Kings’ coach.

The Kings knew they would be without injured Paul Coffey and Rob Blake Thursday.

But what they didn’t know was that the rest of their defense wasn’t going to show up either.

Or their offense. Or their penalty-killing unit.

Buffalo scored half its goals on power plays in improving its record to 28-33-11.

The Kings, who had their eight-game home winning streak ended, didn’t have the problems they experienced Tuesday night against Winnipeg when they lost their concentration and an early lead.

Thursday night, they had the neither the lead nor the concentration, early or late.

Andreychuk had five points, collected his eighth career hat trick, raised his season goal total to 38 and his point total to a team-leading 86.

Andreychuk scored all four of his club’s power-play goals.

Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny got his 31st goal and three assists. LaFontaine (41st goal), Dale Hawerchuk (22nd) and Robert Ray (fifth) also scored for the Sabres.

Tomas Sandstrom got his 17th goal for the Kings and Bob Kudelski had his 21st.

“There was no zip,” Tony Granato said of the Kings. “We didn’t have any attack at all.”

The game was costly for the Kings, second in the Smythe Division, because it allowed the third-place Edmonton Oilers, winners over the New Jersey Devils earlier Thursday, to move to within five points of the Kings.

The Sabres scored their first two goals on just four shots. They outshot the Kings, 13-7, in the first period.

By the time they chased goalie Kelly Hrudey 3:33 into the second period, the Sabres had outscored the Kings, 5-2, and outshot them, 22-7.

Steve Weeks came on in relief, but, for the Kings, there was no relief this night.

“It’s important for the young guys to see how the veterans react to this,” Hrudey said. “We can mope and pout and be a baby about it, but that’s not what being a professional is all about. We just have to go out and work harder.”

“That was awfully ugly.”

King Notes

Defensemen Paul Coffey (minor fracture of the wrist) and Rob Blake (strained shoulder), and center John McIntyre (broken nose) all skated in practice. All are listed as “probable” for Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, but McIntyre, who has already missed five games, has the best chance of playing. Coffey is still adjusting to a playing cast on his wrist. He was hurt Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Blake, who has sat out three games, will not be allowed back in the lineup until it is felt his shoulder is strong enough to withstand contact. . . . This was the Kings’ final regular-season game against a non-Smythe Division opponent. . . . King owner Bruce McNall is in Chicago for the NHL board of governors meeting.