Nothing Doing for Kings Again : Hockey: Fuhr’s effort wasted against Oilers, 2-0, L.A.’s sixth loss in a row.

Let us count the Kings’ scoring highlights in the aftermath of this dreadful three-game trip, an alleged attempt at making the Stanley Cup playoffs:

Goals were scored by Rob Blake and Gary Shuchuk in the second game of the trip in Calgary. That onslaught was bookended by zeros in San Jose and on Wednesday against the Oilers, a 2-0 loss at Edmonton Coliseum before 15,403, squandering a solid performance from goaltender Grant Fuhr.

In tennis lingo, two zeros are called a double bagel. Now the term can be used to describe the rapidly disappearing King offense. Their playoff chances are fading almost as quickly with six consecutive losses, the first time they have dropped six in a row since a stretch last season from Nov. 18 to Nov. 30.

It was Oiler goaltender Bill Ranford’s 10th shutout and second of the season. The Kings have been shut out three times this season.

“We’ve got to score--period,” King defenseman Marty McSorley said. “Two of the last three games, we haven’t scored a goal against teams we have to beat. If they only score one goal, you should be winning hockey games. Grant stepped in and played well. It’s the type of performance we needed, but we didn’t back it up.

“If you don’t do that, then you’re not going to be in the playoffs.”

That possibility is becoming more of a reality. Since defeating Dallas on April 6, there has been an eight-point turnaround in two weeks. Then, they were in a sixth-place tie in the Western Conference and led the Stars by three points. Now the Kings (13-21-7) trail seventh-place Dallas by five points. They may be only two points out of a playoff spot behind San Jose, but their latest loss allowed two teams to catch them in ninth--the Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets--with seven games remaining.

And the Oilers haven’t exactly been a force lately, either, winning only three of their last 14 games. Oiler left wing Kelly Buchberger, who broke out of a scoring slump with his first goal in 16 games, scored the game-winner at 12:23 in the first period on the power play, putting a shot under Fuhr’s left arm. The second goal came on an empty-netter by center Doug Weight with a shot from his own end with 25 seconds remaining.

“When your team is pressing hard, you don’t want to give any up,” said Fuhr, who faced 27 shots. “It’s a step in the right direction but not quite good enough. We had to get a point out of this.

“That was a little bit of a wish (by Weight). And the way things have been going for us, their wishes hit the net right dead center. It’s got to change in a big hurry.”

The Kings’ best chances came when they didn’t even get a shot on goal. Pat Conacher, following a Kevin Todd wraparound, missed from the right post, pushing the puck wide with about a minute left in the first period.

Another scoring opportunity was squandered midway through the second period when the Kings were killing off a penalty to Todd. Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri broke out on a shorthanded two-on-one with Gretzky sliding the puck across to Kurri on the left wing, but Kurri fanned on it.

Meanwhile, the saga of right wing Rick Tocchet’s back problems continued. After practicing Tuesday, he found himself unable to play against the Oilers and did not even try to test his back during the morning skate.

He has sat out seven of the Kings’ last eight games with a strained lower back. And defenseman Michel Petit, who suffered a twisted left knee Monday, was also unable to play.

The Kings’ injury problems continued once the game started. More misfortune hit right wing Kevin Brown, who returned to the lineup for the first time in four games after suffering a hip pointer and strained left knee.

Within minutes, he hurt the other side of his body, colliding with McSorley on his first shift and then taking a huge hit from Oiler Mike Stapleton. Brown left the ice at the end of his shift and then went to the King dressing room with a strained right shoulder.

But the Oilers were playing without their leading scorer, center Jason Arnott, who was a last-minute scratch. Arnott felt some soreness in his knee during the morning skate and there was a recurrence of pain shortly before the game.