Flames Hang 10 on the Kings

The King season, already having devolved into a complicated mess of unsavory winless streaks and man-games lost to injury, is now even more complex and displeasing.

Three long weeks ago, the Kings were legitimate playoff contenders, but they tied a team record Friday with their 10th consecutive loss, falling to the Calgary Flames, 3-2, in front of a quiet crowd of 18,247 at Staples Center.

The Kings, who tied an inglorious record that was set toward the end of the 1983-84 season, play their last game Sunday on the road against the San Jose Sharks.

If this was Luc Robitaille’s last home game as a King -- a possibility because of the looming NHL lockout -- he’ll have many more memories stacked on top of this one.

The Kings tied a season low with 15 shots and again failed to generate the kinetic energy that brought them to the doorstep of a playoff berth before the losing streak began. The Kings fell to 11th place behind the Minnesota Wild, a 4-2 winner Friday against the Dallas Stars.

Robitaille, who has played 18 seasons and is the highest-scoring left wing in league history, categorized the last few weeks as “probably the hardest” of his career.

“It’s not as much the streak as losing the playoff battle that we fought for all year,” said Robitaille, who has 1,370 career points. “We were right there, and then everything turned that [wrong] way.”

Robitaille, 38, has said he might play in Europe next season, or he might retire if a lockout drags on. Robitaille would become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if the Kings don’t re-sign him.

At the end of the game, as Robitaille made one final appearance on the ice, fans chanted, “One more year, one more year.”

“I don’t want it to end this way,” said Robitaille, selected the King MVP on Friday in a vote by local media members. “If all the stars are aligned right, I’d like to come back. I believe in what we’ve got going. It’s just really disappointing the way things have been going lately.”

The Kings have not won a game since defeating the Mighty Ducks, 5-1, on March 14. Earlier in the season, they endured a 14-game winless streak, but they managed to make a run at the playoffs despite more than 600 man-games lost to injury.

King Coach Andy Murray reflected on the tailspin Friday, pinpointing the Kings’ hard-luck 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 22. The Oilers scored twice on deflection goals.

“It just seemed that game, for whatever reason, zapped us,” Murray said. “All of a sudden the stardust or whatever somebody was sprinkling on us was gone. We lost our powers. I don’t like accepting it or looking back on it that way, but that appears to be what happened. It just rips you apart. All you can do is try to get your powers back.”

Eric Belanger’s goal off a behind-the-net pass from Sean Avery gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 18:32 of the first period. The Flames tied the score at 2-2 when Matthew Lombardi tapped in Jordan Leopold’s cross-ice pass at 13:09 of the second period.

The Flames took the lead for good when Martin Gelinas’ cross-ice pass hopped over the stick of King defenseman Nathan Dempsey and got to Lombardi for the go-ahead goal with 6:06 left.