Kings must reduce lapses

Kings Coach Terry Murray challenged his players Friday morning to “think of ourselves as a playoff team” and stop settling for good but incomplete efforts. Their consistent competitiveness and flashes of excellence, he said, convinced him they’re capable of making the playoffs this season.

In the first period against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night his assessment seemed as shaky as the Staples Center press box became during the earthquake that struck 115 miles away. Although they had the better of the play, they had bad goaltending, and a playoff berth appeared as remote as their chances of rallying from the three-goal deficit they created.

Jason LaBarbera replaced an uncharacteristically wobbly Erik Ersberg to start the second period and benefited from a four-goal rally that turned the game upside down.

That lasted until former Duck Dustin Penner, standing on the doorstep, brought the Oilers even at 8:23 of the third period. Edmonton went on to prevail, 5-4, after Ales Hemsky and Marc Pouliot scored in the shootout and the Kings produced only a goal by Patrick O’Sullivan.

“Knowing how to get the win is a part we have to work on,” Murray said afterward.

Correcting that is tougher for the Kings, winless in three (0-2-1) after yielding a season-high 44 shots against.

“We’re a young team, but that’s no excuse,” team captain Dustin Brown said, as correct as he is classy.

The Kings provided a few glimpses of why they might justify Murray’s confidence but too many examples of the faults that will leave them on the outside looking in again.

The Oilers stunned them in the first period with goals by Ethan Moreau (snapper from close range), Pouliot (set up beautifully by Andrew Cogliano) and Cogliano (after Ersberg dropped the puck out of his glove).

The persistence that has kept them in nearly every game this season took over in the second period.

Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar scored off rebounds at 1:53 and 3:55, respectively. Former Oiler Jarret Stoll tied it during a power play with a shot over the left shoulder of former King Mathieu Garon at 7:02.

As the sparse but loud announced crowd of 14,920 screamed and the young Oilers flailed, the Kings pulled ahead.

With Penner serving a tripping penalty, Alexander Frolov pounced on the rebound of a shot by Kyle Quincey, quickly turned and flicked it past Garon at 10:24.

Quite a reversal, if only against a team that is struggling to meet lofty expectations and is also toward the bottom of the West.

LaBarbera stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced, including a fine juggling grab of a shot by Tom Gilbert early in the third period. But overall the goaltending hasn’t been near the caliber necessary for the Kings to crash the top eight in the conference. The offense remains sporadic, and the defense has recently experienced a lot of ragged moments.

But they are grinding through most games, determined if imprecise, occasionally better than the sum of their parts. That counts for something.

Maybe not enough to get that playoff spot but enough to keep them close to the pack and make General Manager Dean Lombardi think seriously about upgrading the goaltending.

The Kings are four points away from the final West playoff spot. They can’t let that deficit grow. Nor can they descend into the free falls that have killed them in past seasons.

It may be good that they play again tonight, also at home, and have little time to brood. Murray said he was not changing his game plan for this quick turnaround against Columbus.

“We played a heck of a game in the first two periods, we scored four goals in the second period to take the lead. What am I going to change?” he said.

Just the outcome.

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helene.elliott@latimes.com