Change Hasn’t Been Very Good

The Kings were chugging along, winning despite the injury bug that had taken their top three forwards, shrugging off the “no-way-they-can-win” analyses, when season-turning events started to unfold.

They got healthy. They brought in players via trades.

And then they struggled.

The Kings have picked the worst time for a losing streak, dropping three consecutive games for the first time since October. Scoring lines have been juggled and goaltenders have struggled, all in the name of incorporating different faces into the lineup.

Anson Carter, acquired the day before the March 9 trade deadline, has one assist in seven games with the Kings. Martin Straka has one assist in seven games since returning from knee surgery. Roman Cechmanek allowed four goals in 15 shots and was yanked Thursday in his first game back from a month-long groin injury.

Subtraction by addition?

All told, the Kings have dropped four of their last five and are losing momentum in their drive to secure a playoff spot.

“I wondered a little bit myself if we were losing a little bit of our identity with the new players coming in that we added and the injured players coming back,” Coach Andy Murray said Sunday at the Kings’ training facility in El Segundo.

“But talking with our players this morning, our feeling is that our work ethic is still who we are and what we are. They all feel we have to pay a little more attention to detail and [eliminate] some of these defensive lapses that have cost us.”

The Kings have been making neutral-zone turnovers, mistakes that will have to be reduced over the final eight games, all of which are against playoff contenders.

While the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators each have two games against the bottom-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks, the Kings have two games against the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks, two against the white-hot Calgary Flames, two against the hard-charging Edmonton Oilers and one each against the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks.

Murray has said all season that the Kings need 94 points to be assured of a playoff spot. To get that, they’ll need to go 7-0-1 the rest of the way.

“With so few games remaining, we can’t afford to waste any time,” defenseman Mattias Norstrom said.

There might be more changes in store tonight against the Oilers.

Defenseman Joe Corvo could return after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch. Physical forward Jeff Cowan could be back on the fourth line after being scratched in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

“The changes we can make are somewhat limited but there may be a couple,” Murray said. “We’re kind of on a teeter-totter and we’ve got to somehow get it going on our side.”