Kings Blow Late Shots, Lose, 3-2 : Hockey: Sandstrom’s two goals are wasted against the Flames. Melrose blames day off for poor play.

Blame proved to be an equal-opportunity emotion in the Kings’ dressing room after Calgary’s 3-2 victory before 19,169 at the Olympic Saddledome on Tuesday night.

King Coach Barry Melrose took a helping. Defenseman Rob Blake said he deserved a portion. And left wing Luc Robitaille’s downcast demeanor and curt statements seemed to show he was pointing a finger at himself.

Those completely immune were few and far between. Forward Tomas Sandstrom was responsible for the offense as he scored two third-period power-play goals, giving him five points in the last two games. King goaltender Kelly Hrudey found himself all alone in the first period as the Flames outshot the Kings, 18-6, and took a 2-0 lead on goals by Theoren Fleury and Ted Drury.

“We didn’t lose the game in the third period,” Melrose said. “It was in the first. We weren’t ready to play. We got into a lot of bad habits against Pittsburgh. It was a good lesson for all of us, and I learned something tonight, and it won’t happen again.”

His error?

“I gave them a day off on Sunday,” Melrose said. “And I’m not giving them any more days off. I’ve had a feeling for years this team needs to be on the ice a lot. It was against my better judgment. Stupidity.”

But the Kings (8-6-2) said the day off after three consecutive victories was not the reason they came out flat and got flatter until the second period. Their power play failed five times and they had only one shot in their first four opportunities before Sandstrom’s slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line beat Calgary goaltender Trevor Kidd at 2:22 of the third period.

“He (Melrose) can say what he wants,” Robitaille said. “We had days off last week and we didn’t lose.”

The issue of the off-day probably would have been moot had Robitaille converted on either of his two scoring opportunities late in the game. With 1:27 remaining, he had a chance from 10 feet out and got his own rebound and slapped a backhander into Kidd’s pads. In all, Robitaille had seven shots on goal against the Flames, but he is without a goal in his last 10 games. His last goal came against the Flames on Oct. 16.

“You always think you have him,” Robitaille said of his final two chances. “The puck was coming to me and I shot again. It hit the defenseman’s stick and I went to my backhand. And it stayed between his legs.”

At times, Robitaille was barely audible and acknowledged being frustrated.

“Yeah,” he said, walking away. “I’m not satisfied.

Even after Robitaille could not score, the Kings had another chance to force overtime. With Hrudey pulled for an extra attacker, King center Shawn McEachern won the faceoff from Joel Otto with 25 seconds remaining but Blake’s shot from the right point was blocked by defenseman Chris Dahlquist.

Blake was disgusted with himself.

“I didn’t make the play,” he said. “I shot it right at him. What a stupid play. And I did it earlier on the five-on-three a couple of other times.

“I’ve been here four years. I’ve got to make a play. It’s something I’ve got to work on. I don’t know how many times I’ve done that.”

Usually when the Kings and Flames play, the frustration has been coming from Calgary’s dressing room. In their last meeting, the Flames lost, 8-4, in Los Angeles on Oct. 16.

“They’ve beaten up on us pretty good,” said left wing Gary Roberts, who scored the winner at 14:02 of the third, finishing off on two-on-one on the power play.

“Nobody had to mention it--we all knew. The win was especially sweet against a team that can turn it on.”

But on this night, 20 minutes wasn’t enough time for the Kings.