Cloutier can’t help Kings

There was no net gain for the Kings on Tuesday night. In fact, they were in the red, the same color as that festive light behind their goal.

A 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames put them deeper into the Western Conference, and the less-than-anticipated -- at least by fans -- return of goaltender Dan Cloutier seemed to live down to expectations among the announced 17,247 at Staples Center.

Cloutier, who returned to the lineup after missing two games because of a bruised shoulder, seemed to set the tone for the evening. Tony Amonte let loose a weak shot from the blue line, only to have the puck go off Cloutier’s pad and trickle into the net 1 minute 24 seconds into the game.

After that, the Kings seemed to lose all their motor skills, with turnovers and other miscues.

By the time they worked that out of their system, they were on their way to another loss, leaving them seven points out of a playoff spot in 12th place, with the Columbus Blue Jackets creeping up from behind.

“Bad goals happen all the time,” Cloutier said. “We were down 1-0 and there was a lot of hockey left.”

Not enough, it turned out.

“You need to stick with the system whether you’re up one, two, three goals or down one, two or three goals,” team captain Mattias Norstrom said. “I felt we changed. Pucks were bouncing off our sticks and we were out of position. You want to have an identity out there.”

The face of the Kings, for now, and for better or worse, is Cloutier, who lost last season to knee surgery and gained a two-year, $6.2-million contract before he had played one game for the Kings.

The Flames red-light brigade included goals by Robyn Regehr, Daymond Langkow, David Moss and Kristian Huselius, all of which would have taken quality saves to prevent. But it was Amonte’s that clearly seemed to put the Kings in their place.

“It was a bad goal,” Cloutier said. “That was not the way you want to start a game.”

Yet, it seems too often the way Cloutier starts his this season.

This was the fourth time in 20 starts that Cloutier has given up a goal within the first 1:24 of a game. It was also the 11th time he has given up at least four goals.

Regehr snaked a shot through traffic and into the net for a 2-0 lead three minutes later and the Kings spent the rest of the night chasing in vain.

As the Kings approach the midway point of the season, they remain an easy target for teams trying to pick up points in the standings. That included the Flames, who were coming off a 4-1 loss to the Ducks on Monday.

The Kings, meanwhile, have a 6-15-4 record against the teams ahead of them in the standings.

The main problem seems easy to identify. The Kings’ 3.29 goals-against average was 26th among 30 NHL teams before Tuesday’s game. Cloutier began the night with a 3.74 goals-against average and .868 save percentage, both last among the 47 NHL goaltenders who have played at least 10 games.

Those numbers had gone further south, after Huselius’ goal gave the Flames a 5-2 lead 12:38 into the third period.

“We made mistakes [in the second period] and the puck was in the back of the net,” Cloutier said.

Kings fans, meanwhile, did not seem happy that Cloutier was back in net. After the first goal, they gave a mock cheer every time Cloutier stopped a puck, even on simple dump ins by the Flames.

chris.foster@latimes.com