Well, That’s It: Kings’ Playoff Hopes Dashed : Hockey: Conacher rips teammates after 5-3 loss to Edmonton. Later, San Jose wins to eliminate last year’s Stanley Cup finalists from postseason.

The Kings’ magic number--or is that tragic number?--for playoff elimination had been reduced to one after yet another defeat, a 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at the Forum before 14,108.

That didn’t last long. Saturday night, the San Jose Sharks made it final by ending the Kings’ playoff hopes with a 7-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Yet, even hours before the Sharks’ victory, King Coach Barry Melrose and center Pat Conacher put the miserable season in proper perspective.

“That would be nightmare on Manchester, wouldn’t it?” Melrose said. “Freddie Krueger showed up. . . . and Jason. . . . and Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. And Leona Helmsley.”

Said Conacher: “You can’t print the words I’m thinking.”

The printable words were stinging, nonetheless, worthy of a team that missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1985-86 season, the first time Wayne Gretzky has missed the playoffs and the first time in 24 years that a Stanley Cup finalist failed to reach the next season.

“We’re. . . . laying down like dogs now,” Conacher said. “And there’s no excuse for that.”

Really, the Kings (25-41-11) seemed finished long before the Sharks made it official. Before the Shark-Canuck game, the Kings trailed San Jose by 14 points. They are 7-18-7 since the All-Star break and 20-40-9 since opening the season 5-1-2.

There is a very real chance the Kings might not win any of their seven remaining games if they keep playing with one eye on the golf course. They are closer to last place in the Western Conference than the eighth and final playoff spot. The 10th-place Kings are three points ahead of the Oilers and seven in front of last-place Winnipeg.

“My God, you guys have some more pride in yourselves,” Conacher said of his teammates. “Do the best you can, lose, win or draw. You don’t lay down like a dog and be beaten like a dog. You go out like a man. You don’t go out like a whipped dog. Have some guts.”

Conacher was not absolving himself. He said the only three blameless players are Wayne Gretzky and goaltenders Kelly Hrudey and Robb Stauber.

“We give up 50 shots on goal,” Conacher said. “What do you expect? It’s one thing to stop the first shot but they have got four or five more shots.”

Conacher was especially disgusted by the lack of support the Kings have given Gretzky, who leads the NHL’s scoring race with 125 points. Gretzky scored his 38th goal of the season, at 17:32 of the third on the power play and added an assist.

“He’s the only guy who deserves any credit,” Conacher said. “Take a look at Wayne Gretzky and the season he’s had and he’s hardly had any support from the other 19 supporting guys. He’s giving and giving and giving. We should be ashamed. He’s been leading every day and done it with no support. That appalls and disgusts me when I see things like that.”

He wasn’t the only one. Conacher had plenty of company as several spectators at the Forum were spotted wearing bags over their heads.

King Notes

King forward Tony Granato did not play because of an ailing back. Coach Barry Melrose said he might not play the rest of the season. Marty McSorley (pulled stomach muscle) saw limited action in the third period because of his injury. . . . The crowd of 14,108 was the Kings’ third smallest of the season. They drew 13,018 against San Jose on Oct. 10 and 14,035 against the New York Islanders on Oct. 12.