Kings’ Own Flame Starting to Flicker

If the Kings didn’t think that they had problems before Saturday, they sure know now after struggling to a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames in front of 16,998 at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome.

In losing their second game in a row, the Kings barely resembled the team that was the talk of the league only a month ago when they physically dominated opponents and executed with precision in key situations.

Instead, they suddenly have started to look a lot like last season’s King team that fell apart whenever adversity struck.

The Kings, who had won all four previous games against Calgary this season, were spotted a 1-0 lead on a goal by Vladimir Tsyplakov 27 seconds into the first period but made too many mental mistakes and sloppy plays against the Flames, who are trying to make a late run for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Calgary left wing Jason Wiemer broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period with his second winning goal in as many games since being acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay. The Flames added two more goals to improve to 4-1-1 over their last six games.

With the playoffs less than a month away, the Kings are far from being a team jelling down the stretch. They have lost five of their last eight games.

“Panic is the wrong word, but certainly it’s time to open up their eyes and realize that it wasn’t through a fluke that they got where they are,” Coach Larry Robinson said of the Kings, who remain locked into the fifth spot in the conference with 11 games remaining.

“It was through hard work. Playing the system and playing it hard. They have been just way too soft. If a guy puts a stick on them, they are not fighting through. They are not doing the little things that they did to get them where they are.”

Calgary defenseman Tommy Albelin helped give the Kings the game’s first score when he fell near the Flames’ blue line, creating a breakaway for the Kings. Tsyplakov scored his 18th goal off an assist from Craig Johnson.

The Kings, however, allowed Calgary to even the score when they were caught scrambling in their own zone and goaltender Stephane Fiset was screened on Theoren Fleury’s power-play goal at 8:01.

Calgary didn’t score on its second power-play opportunity, but seconds after killing off Glen Murray’s tripping penalty, the Kings assisted on the Flames’ next goal when defenseman Aki Berg deflected the puck into the net. German Titov, who had kicked the puck into the crease, was credited with the goal at 15:42.

The Kings bounced back to tie the score at 17:06 when Rob Blake scored his 22nd goal--tops among NHL defensemen--thanks to Calgary goalie Rick Tabaracci, who had kept the play alive instead of holding onto the puck after a save.

In the second period, the Kings wasted a golden chance to take back the lead when they managed only two power-play shots on goal over a six-minute span.

With the score still tied, 2-2, the Kings came out flat in the third period and it cost them. Wiemer scored the winning goal when he deflected in a blue-line shot by Cale Hulse at 2:08.

The Flames then took a 4-2 lead when the Kings misplayed the puck in their own zone and Ed Ward made them pay with a breakaway goal at 12:24. Calgary completed its scoring when Valeri Bure backhanded a shot from the blue line for an empty-net goal with 40 seconds remaining.

“We can’t afford to panic [now], we have to stay sharp and come together as a team when everything else around us is questioning our play,” King defenseman Garry Galley said. “We have to find ways to win.”