Kings Star-Struck Again

If the Dallas Stars had their choice, they probably would stay out west and play the Kings as often as the NHL would allow.

A few days of sunshine. A couple practices. Two all-too-easy victories were part of the Stars tour package put together by the NHL schedulers. All that was left on this vacation was a visit to Anaheim, not for Disneyland, but to play the Ducks tonight in a game between two teams that seem capable of winning the Pacific Division.

Looking up from below are the Kings, who slipped a little further back after a 4-1 loss to the Stars on Saturday in front of 17,052 at Staples -- NHL teams are only required to announce tickets distributed, free or purchased, per league policy. It was the Kings’ second home loss in three days to the Stars, who had coasted to a 4-1 victory Thursday.

“That was unacceptable,” center Craig Conroy said. “We can’t have anymore like this. This was not good at all.”

A short and not-so-sweet answer after taking a second shellacking from the Stars. This one unraveled quick, from the moment the puck deflected off Mike Ribeiro and into the net 13 minutes 44 seconds into the game.

“They get a lucky power-play goal, then it was downhill,” center Derek Armstrong said. “We can’t do this any more. We have to stick together and start believing in each other.

“We have to show we can compete with the teams in our division.”

So far, so bad for the Kings on that front.

The results to date: Two loses to the Stars, one to the Ducks.

In fact, the Kings’ two victories this season have been against doormats, the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues.

The Stars showed that Thursday was no fluke by carving the Kings again, getting two goals from Brenden Morrow and three assists from Stephane Robidas.

“I thought it would be different tonight,” team captain Mattias Norstrom said. “The game became about what Dallas was doing. They dominated.”

The Kings marketing campaign had promised that the team would “Play hard,” and fans in attendance seemed to feel short-changed, chanting, “Let’s play harder,” after the Kings fell behind, 4-0, late in the second period.

“We know there are teams with more talented players, and Dallas is one of them,” Coach Marc Crawford said. “In order to compensate and bring that level down to where it’s not as much a factor in games, you’ve got to make sure you’re beating them in other areas.”

The Kings were reduced to trying to score macho points.

Unable to provide entertainment through the flow of play, the Kings looked for ways to vent. Armstrong hammered Robidas with two hard checks, then jumped him after the whistle. The second period ended with a melee in the corner, after defenseman Rob Blake clipped Antti Miettinen with a high stick. The aftermath resulted in 40 penalty minutes, the one area where the Kings came ahead during the game.

The Kings certainly weren’t able to compete between the whistles.

The Stars scored three power-play goals, two on deflections in front of the net.

The Kings power play had one face-saving power goal in eight tries, leaving them five for 45 with a man advantage this season.

To add salt to those wounds, the Stars scored their third goal at the end of a two-on-three rush, when Jere Lehtinen flicked a wrist shot past goaltender Mathieu Garon despite the Kings having more players in the zone at the time.

“The team is a little bit fragile,” Crawford said. “We’re not playing with a lot of confidence at this point in the game.”

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chris.foster@latimes.com