Kings Anything but Electrifying in 4-3 Shocker

Where is it you can buy energy, Washington? Oregon? Nevada? Arizona?

Wherever, the Kings should send somebody with a checkbook, because the power shortage that threatens Southern California struck on a passionless Saturday night at Staples Center.

There was also an emotional emptiness.

And a lesson learned.

“For sure we took them lightly,” the Kings’ Ian Laperriere said after the team with one of the NHL’s best home records gave up two goals to Fredrik Modin and one each to Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis in losing to Tampa Bay, the team with the worst road record in the league, 4-3.

The “3” is misleading, because two King goals came in the final, desperate 3:41, both scored by Luc Robitaille.

“Those guys are NHL players too, and for some reason we didn’t think of them that way,” Laperriere said.

Said King Coach Andy Murray: “The last time I looked, Tampa Bay was 6-1-1 in Los Angeles. The last eight games, six wins, one tie . . .”

Nine games, seven wins, one tie now.

“That would be irresponsible as professionals to say that we would take a team lightly,” Murray said. “. . . You may want to take that question to the players. . . .”

OK.

“We came out like we were going to have an easy game,” said goalie Stephane Fiset, who took the blame for the carnage after he gave up three of the four goals, then gave up the position to Jamie Storr at 6:05 of the second period.

“Tampa Bay came out strong.”

That was shown on Modin’s first goal, scored 4:40 into the game when a host of Kings failed to clear the puck.

By that time, even a couple of strong right hands by Stu Grimson in his first-period fight with the Lightning’s Kyle Freadrich had failed to awaken the Kings.

And by that time, any of the announced 15,576 there to watch the NHL’s leading scorer, Ziggy Palffy, had seen about all they were going to see. He left because of a strained hamstring, and with his Slovakian running-mate, Jozef Stumpel, out because of a broken toe, the newly constituted first King line looked like this:

* Winger Bryan Smolinski, who had to feel lonesome because he was the only plank-owner left on the ice;

* center Eric Belanger, a fourth-liner only a week ago, and playing in Lowell of the AHL only a week before that;

* and winger Nelson Emerson, a third-line checker when the game started.

The Kings also got power-play and offensive-line-wing time from Laperriere, nominally a checker. By game’s end, there was only one criterion for getting on the ice.

“Energy,” Murray said flatly.

For all of that, though, there should have been enough to handle Tampa Bay, whose road record--Southern California history notwithstanding--at the beginning of the evening was 2-11-2-2; whose goalie, Kevin Weekes, had a goals-against average of 3.57 and a saves percentage rivaling Shaquille O’Neal’s free-throw success; and who had only four points since Thanksgiving.

It’s six now.

Weekes was touched for Smolinski’s short-handed goal and a six-player power-play blast by Robitaille, which came at 16:19 of the third period, when the issue was already decided.

It was his 500th goal as a King.

Storr was pulled with 3:41 to play, largely because Murray wanted to show the Kings that desperate times called for desperate measures.

It got even more desperate when Storr was pulled with Tampa Bay on a power play, and Robitaille responded with his 501st goal, scored short-handed.

“Too bad they got those [goals] at the end,” Lightning Coach Steve Ludzik said. “It kind of dampens our experience.”

But not much.

The really dampened experience was down the hall in Staples Center, where boos drifted down a tunnel after the second period.

“I told our guys [then], ‘I’m a coach and I like to be patted on the back when things are going well,’ ” Murray said. “ ‘I enjoy coming into a dressing room and talking to you guys when we have got a lead and are playing really well. If I am prepared to do that, then I better be prepared to accept the other side. And tonight that was the case.’ ”