Players Meet, Then Get Beat

The Kings acquired Kelly Buchberger from Atlanta last March for his leadership ability. But even Buchberger, whose toughness and work ethic command universal respect, can’t lead alone.

With many players who are quiet by nature, the Kings lack a strong, central force like Mark Messier was for the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers. Buchberger, a former captain of the Oilers, has tried to fill that vacuum, but it’s a difficult task for a role player who is past his prime.

“With our team, we have a lot of skill players, and we have to find the mix where we get the best out of everybody,” he said. “It’s a long season, and you get peaks and valleys, and you try to get something steady. But of late, it has been going down.

“It takes everybody in the dressing room to lead, no matter if you’re the captain or not. We want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

To be sure that page is in the same book, players held a closed-door, no-coaches-allowed meeting before Tuesday’s morning skate.

Buchberger declined to discuss what happened, except to say everybody spoke, not only one or two players. However, the Kings’ 5-0 loss to the Oilers Tuesday--their fifth loss in six games--resulted from the same sloppy, dispirited play.

“We’re just making mental mistakes that cost us,” he said.

Asked to assess the King debut of Felix Potvin, Buchberger held the goalie blameless for the Kings’ loss.

“We let him down tonight,” Buchberger said. “We just didn’t rise to the occasion.”

*

Rob Blake, who missed Tuesday’s game because of a family illness, will meet the team in Calgary. The Kings are 1-4-1 in games Blake has missed. . . . The Kings have been shut out five times, compared to once last season. . . . One bright note: the Kings killed a two-minute, two-man disadvantage midway through the third period.