Song Stays the Same for Kings : Hockey: Gretzky scores twice, but L.A.’s winless streak is extended to 0-8-2 by the Jets, 6-3.

One night, it is the youngsters who are turning victories into defeat for the Kings.

Other times, the mistakes are coming from owners of Stanley Cup rings or players who have several years of experience.

After the Kings--who got two goals from Wayne Gretzky--lost by 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets, extending their winless streak to 10 games, an angry Coach Barry Melrose did not leave much doubt about Friday’s culprits at Winnipeg Arena.

“It’s not our kids who are hurting us,” Melrose said. “Our veterans are letting us down. They’ve got to play better.”

A moment earlier, someone asked Melrose how he felt about the game.

“Brutal,” Melrose said, sharply. “What do you think? We lost.”

Soon after, Tony Granato, who looked as if he had been pulled out of the shower, trotted down the hall to meet with Melrose. So did Luc Robitaille. Even before Melrose talked with reporters, defenseman Charlie Huddy found his way down to the coaches’ room.

Huddy’s mistake was especially costly. With the score 3-3 with 36 seconds left in the second period, Huddy left defenseman Phil Housley open at the right crease so he could chase down Teemu Selanne. The problem was that King defenseman Darryl Sydor was tying up Selanne along the right wing and followed him behind the net.

Huddy followed Sydor. No one followed Housley.

Selanne passed the puck to Housley at the right crease and Housley put it between the right post and King goaltender David Goverde, who had no chance.

Huddy felt bad about the blunder.

“I thought he (Selanne) had a step on Sydor and he was going to come across,” he said. “I should have stayed with Housley. It was a bad mistake.”

Said Melrose: “Charlie is making a bonehead play every game. Charlie can’t do that. We look to him to not make mistakes, not to struggle. It was 3-3, and everything was going in our favor.”

After Housley’s goal, the air went out of the Kings. Even though the Jets had only four shots during the third period, they scored twice, the second an empty-netter by Selanne. The other goal came from Bryan Erickson, who is on the Jets’ fourth line--their checking line.

Melrose was asked if he was frustrated, considering the winless streak (0-8-2) is almost one-month long.

“Frustrated, no,” he said. “Frustrated is how a garage mechanic gets when he can’t find the hole in a gas tank.”

The Kings (20-16-5) haven’t won since Dec. 12, when they beat St. Louis. Defenseman Rob Blake could not remember the last time the team won, instead tracing the root of the decline to a 5-5 tie against Montreal on Dec. 8. That day, the Kings blew a three-goal lead in the final eight minutes.

Now, the problem is getting a third-period lead. Now, the Kings’ long slump has given the Jets (17-20-4) new life. With the victory, Winnipeg pulled within seven points of the third-place Kings in the Smythe Division.

If the Kings don’t watch out, they might have to worry about staying ahead of Edmonton, which seemed far-fetched a month ago. Friday, they wasted a solid performance by Goverde, who was making his season debut. Goverde faced 24 shots and will start again Sunday against Chicago.

Gretzky, too, was one of the few bright spots in his first road game since returning from a herniated disk in his back. He played 22 minutes and 55 seconds. Whether he plays against Chicago apparently is up to his doctors.

“I’m not going to find it very easy to fall asleep after this,” Marty McSorley said of the loss to the Jets. “You almost have to say you hope the feeling is mutual in this dressing room.”

If this keeps up much longer, the Kings might become a team of insomniacs--if they aren’t already.