Power Goes Out, Kings Lose, 7-0 : Hockey: L.A. fails 11 times with the man advantage against the Islanders and suffers its third consecutive loss.

This Kings’ trip has featured desperate opponents struggling to maintain a semblance of consistency.

There were the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. And the Detroit Red Wings tonight.

You can put another team on the list--the Kings. After losing 7-0 to the Islanders and going 0-for-11 on the power play, the Kings rightfully assumed their place with the others on Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum before 11,417. It was their third consecutive loss after they opened with a tie and a victory on this seven-game trip.

“Now the role is reversed,” King defenseman Rob Blake said. “We’re the desperate team now. We’ve got to get things turned around and go out there and do it ourselves.”

King Coach Barry Melrose has tried to shake things up, but to no avail. He benched five players on Sunday and called up four players from the minors--defensemen Bob Jay, Brent Thompson and forwards Dave Thomlinson and Rob Murphy. In any event, it was not the Jay Luck Club.

Tuesday, he changed the lineup again and benched Jay, Murphy, Gary Shuchuk and rested Tomas Sandstrom, who has a pulled hamstring. He also gave center Jimmy Carson much more ice time, including a regular turn on the power play. Earlier, Carson had indicated he might ask for a trade if his playing time did not increase.

Referee Kerry Fraser assessed a total of 126 minutes, which included 33 minor penalties. The difference was that the Islanders were able to convert on their opportunities, going four for 12 on the power play.

The Islanders scored on the power play 58 seconds into the game on a shot by Derek King shortly after Stauber’s clearing attempt up the slot was intercepted. They added a power-play goal by Pierre Turgeon at 7:44 and took a 3-0 lead at 8:07 of the first.

Stauber lasted until the 9:29 mark of the second period when he was replaced by Hrudey after giving up five goals on 25 shots. He gave up four first-period goals on 13 shots.

“I felt a change was needed there,” Melrose said. “Kelly came in and it was 5-0 and he gave us a boost. I felt it was time for a change. Robb battled well.”

Islander goaltender Ron Hextall had been having his own problems. He blamed himself for the team’s recent struggles, but broke out of his slump with his fifth career shutout, making 38 saves. And the line of King-Turgeon-Steve Thomas accounted for 10 points.

Melrose had some praise for those who recently fell into disfavor--defenseman Alexei Zhitnik, forwards Shawn McEachern, Warren Rychel and Carson. He evaded questions about defenseman Mark Hardy, who was on the ice for four of the Islanders’ final five goals.

The situation is not expected to get much easier tonight against Detroit.

“We just didn’t play well at all,” Wayne Gretzky said. “The thing about tonight is that it’s not something that happened overnight. We didn’t play well against Edmonton. We played well against Calgary before this trip. But we haven’t played well five of the last six games, and that’s not good.”

King Notes

The Kings have signed defenseman Darryl Sydor to a new contract, three years plus an option for a fourth. They had been negotiating with Sydor since the summer. King General Manager Nick Beverley continues to talk about new contracts with defenseman Rob Blake and forward Tomas Sandstrom, but is not close to a deal with either player.

Beverley said he is talking with other teams about Jimmy Carson, but added that he is having discussions about other players as well. “You want to see what might be out there,” he said. “A lot of teams are in the same situation. So far we haven’t seen much happen.” Beverley is leaving the team to be with his father in Toronto. His father suffered an apparent heart attack during surgery.