Kings Have Nothing to Howl About

It’s not difficult to figure out why the Kings lost, 4-0, to the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night before a capacity crowd of 16,210 at America West Arena.

That’s because the Coyotes turned their best scoring opportunities into goals and the Kings didn’t.

* With the game scoreless, King winger Craig Johnson broke free on a breakaway only to have his shot from the slot blocked by Phoenix goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin at 4:40 of the first period.

* Phoenix defenseman Deron Quint took a centering pass from Dallas Drake and then used a screen by Keith Tkachuk to beat King goalie Jamie Storr from the left circle to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead with only 59 seconds left in the period.

* After a nice set-up pass by Dan Bylsma, King center Yanic Perreault hit the left post with a shot from the left wing at 8:41 of the second period.

* The Kings had a three-on-one rush seconds later but didn’t get off a shot because Glen Murray’s entry pass was blocked by diving Phoenix defenseman Gerald Diduck.

* King left wing Vladimir Tsyplakov skated down an up-ice pass from Rob Blake for a breakaway but Khabibulin blocked his backhand attempt with his body at 14:35.

* With less than a minute to play in the second period and the Coyotes on a power play--thanks to a questionable Sean O’Donnell tripping penalty--Storr stopped a shot from the point by Quint but the Kings were unable to clear the rebound and former King Rick Tocchet knocked the puck into the net to give Phoenix a 2-0 lead with 47 seconds remaining.

The Coyotes went on to score two more goals, by Cliff Ronning and Craig Janney, as they beat the Kings for the second time in less than a week and picked up their fourth consecutive victory.

“When you are down 2-0 it’s tough because you have to try and rally back,” said Storr, who did his best to keep the Kings close by stopping 22 of the first 23 shots he faced, and 32 altogether. “When you do that, you give up scoring opportunities. . . . We kept trying to get [our own opportunities] but it’s a tough way to play. Playing from behind, especially in the last period, is not [a situation] we want to be in.”

On Wednesday, the Kings were able to mount a two-goal third-period comeback and earn a 2-2 tie at Dallas, but they didn’t have the energy to rally for the second consecutive night.

Especially considering the Kings took four consecutive penalties in the second period, which did not please Coach Larry Robinson.

“We were killing penalties all night,” he said of the Kings, who finished with 11 penalties for 25 minutes compared to the Coyotes’ six for 15.

“It was a plain case of an official being intimidated by the home crowd. I’ll get upset because I know they can’t call everything, but that was blatant. [Referee Dan O’Halloran] gives [O’Donnell] a penalty . . . for hauling [Jeremy Roenick] down, and just before that, Tkachuk impedes his way. Call it fair. . . . A loss is a loss, but I’ll lose honestly. Let the other team beat me. But don’t beat me by [calling four] penalties in a row. Just brutal.”

The Kings, whose modest two-game unbeaten streak was snapped, had hoped to play better against Phoenix, which now leads them in the battle for fifth position in the Western Conference by four points.

Effort was not a problem, but finishing off chances against Khabibulin was as he registered his fourth shutout of the season and 13th of his career. Khabibulin, who improved to 6-3-1 against the Kings, had to stop only 23 shots, only three in the first period.

“We had a few chances, but we really haven’t generated enough offense over the last 15 games to win a lot,” Blake said. “We’ve had a couple of games [when the team has scored goals] but for the most part, our offense hasn’t [scored] like it should.

“They outplayed us, that’s all. They shut down the neutral zone pretty well and that causes a lot of trouble for us. We weren’t able to get in any forechecking the way we wanted to. We gave up too many chances, and guys like Tocchet, Tkachuk and them are going to score.”

The Kings returned to Los Angeles but will complete a four-game trip with games at Edmonton on Sunday and Vancouver on Monday.