Kings’ playoff chances are done

Let no one say the Kings accomplished nothing during the 2006-07 season. They officially exited from the Stanley Cup playoff race faster than any previous team in franchise history.

By the time the Kings took the ice for the third period Monday, they were out. The Calgary Flames’ shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues made the foregone conclusion a mathematical reality -- meaning once again a loss by an Andy Murray-coached team knocked the Kings from the playoffs.

Still, they went out with a bang. Noah Clarke’s first NHL goal got a 5-1 victory over the hapless Edmonton Oilers started and the announced 16,954 at Staples Center got to see a team worse off than their own these days. This was the eighth consecutive loss for the Oilers, one shy of the franchise record.

Michael Cammalleri scored two goals, Rob Blake had a goal and two assists and goaltender Mathieu Garon won for the first time since Jan. 6. That helped take away a little of the sting from the elimination and more hope for the future.

“I’ve said ever since we began rebuilding, or whatever people are calling it, this is not going to take as long as some people think,” said Cammalleri, who has 29 goals this season. “You can see the young talent we have here.”

The Kings have 12 games left to drive that point home, and to keep from finishing further out of a playoff spot than any other time in their history. The Kings are 25 points out of eighth-place after having never finished more than 20 points out of a playoff spot.

“The most disappointing thing this season is we never got on a roll, allowed ourselves to get that confidence you need,” Coach Marc Crawford said.

Crawford, though, said this season was a steppingstone toward a brighter future.

“It has been a good chance to see a lot of our young guys,” Crawford said. “We have a lot of young forwards and they had an opportunity to get older in the NHL this season. From that standpoint, it will help the team in the future.”

Longtime fans may wait before climbing on board, having been through four decades of promises.

This was just another season for the scrap heap, not the scrapbook, for the Kings. The franchise, in its 40th year, has been a Homer-esque tale with too many Homer Simpson-like moments. The Kings have had an owner who may have spent more days in jail than they have spent in first place. They gave away first-round draft picks like free trial-offer coupons.

What was different this season was fans were spared prolonged agony. This is the fourth consecutive season the Kings will watch the playoffs from the couch, but unlike the last two seasons, fans were not tortured with a March collapse.

The Kings removed the stress earlier this season with a 4-8-2 record in October. That pretty much started the countdown to playoff elimination.

“We had that terrible start and we paid for that the rest of the season,” said Garon, who made 26 saves. “There were so many close games, where we didn’t have complete efforts; that’s what was frustrating.”

The frustration was on the Edmonton side Monday.

Clarke, the first California-born player to make it to the Kings, became the first California-born player to score for the Kings when he tossed in a wrist shot two minutes into the game. The play was made possible by Dustin Brown, who whiffed on a shot and fell, but managed to tap the puck to Clarke.

“I remember going to peewee tournaments growing up and people would sneer a little, saying, ‘California kids can’t play,’” said Clarke, who is from La Verne. “That felt good tonight to get that one under my belt.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

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That bad

The Kings were eliminated from the playoffs Monday, the earliest in the franchise’s history. The team also could set a record for points out of the playoffs:

*--* Year Points* 2006-07 25** 1969-70 20 1971-72 17

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*--* Year Points* 1993-94 16 1996-97 14 1995-96 12

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* -- Points out of the playoffs at season’s end; ** -- With 12 games to play.