Erratic play is costly to the Kings

Those $11.50 tickets the Kings are selling for their six January home games seem like a bargain.

Buying at that markdown price would have been overpaying to witness their 2-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday at Staples Center, a defeat that deflated a rare full house and spawned boos during a punchless third-period power play.

For once, their loss couldn’t be pinned on their goaltending. Rookie Jonathan Quick, starting his third straight game, made 24 saves and wasn’t at fault on the Coyotes’ goals. The first was scored off a two-on-one midway through the first period and the second on a redirection during a Phoenix power play late in the second period.

“He made the saves. We just didn’t come through at the other end,” said Dustin Brown, who screened Ilya Bryzgalov on the Kings’ only goal, a blue-line blast by Peter Harrold during a power play at 8:49 of the third period.

“It comes down to individuals preparing themselves for each and every game and being ready to play.

“If everyone comes and is prepared mentally and physically we can play 60 minutes.”

After slumbering through the first two periods they were more forceful in the third. But even then, Brown took a tripping penalty 43 seconds after Harrold’s goal, taking two precious minutes off their comeback attempt.

“We were resting the first two,” Anze Kopitar said of the team’s sluggish effort over the first 40 minutes.

“We didn’t play with as much energy as we did last game in Columbus. Maybe it was two days off we didn’t skate, but that’s no excuse. Everybody should come here ready to go.

“It showed again in this league you’ve got to play 60 minutes, not just 20.”

The Kings are not good enough to coast through one period, let alone two.

They don’t have the depth to turn it on for 20 minutes and expect to win.

“The third period was what we needed for the 60 minutes,” Coach Terry Murray said.

Anything they gain will be through a total team effort. They didn’t get that Friday.

They did test Bryzgalov a few times in the last five minutes, forcing him to stop Kopitar from close range and to squeeze his pads on a hard shot up the middle by Harrold, but their inconsistent offense did them in yet again.

“It’s not about not scoring in the third. It’s about not playing in the first two,” Brown said.

Bryzgalov made 24 saves to improve his record against the Kings to 8-2-1, and that’s a cruel irony. Bryzgalov played for the Ducks during their 2006-07 Stanley Cup run but was waived last season because of salary-cap considerations.

The Kings might have solved their goaltending woes if they had been able to claim him, but the Coyotes were a place below them in the standings when he became available and got first crack at him.

Quick played well enough for Murray to be inclined to give him another start tonight in Glendale, Ariz.

“He gave us a chance. . . .” Murray said. “He’s taking advantage of the opportunities he’s been given and we like what we see.”

Murray didn’t like anything else he saw until the final period.

“That’s just the kind of effort we have to have from the very beginning,” he said.

The kind they didn’t get.

The Coyotes scored their first goal at 10:44 of the first period. The play began with a shot by Patrick O’Sullivan that thudded off the end boards. Shane Doan pounced on the rebound and quickly turned to move the puck up ice, leaving Tom Preissing and the Kings’ three forwards behind.

Doan and Peter Mueller were able to go up ice on a two-on-one against Sean O’Donnell. Doan carried the puck up the left side and passed to his right to Mueller, who finished it off from about 15 feet out on the right side.

Phoenix padded its lead to 2-0 during a power play late in the second period. Kyle Quincey was sent off for roughing at 17:38, and on the ensuing faceoff Phoenix’s Kyle Turris beat the Kings’ Michal Handzus. Turris got the puck to Olli Jokinen, whose shot was redirected by Doan as he stood near the hash marks. The goal, at 17:43, was Doan’s team-leading 17th.

Quick, 22, nearly made the Kings’ roster out of training camp but was edged out by Erik Ersberg for the backup job behind Jason LaBarbera. With Ersberg still idled by a pulled groin muscle and LaBarbera still seeking that elusive consistency and ability to hang onto rebounds, Quick is getting his showcase.

He’s making the most of it, showing composure and poise in adjusting to shots that are faster and harder than those he saw in the American Hockey League.

“It’s just about getting your timing. You get your timing down and you feel a little bit better out there,” he said.

“You practice a few times, you get used to it and you get to know the guys a bit better the more time you spend with them. Everyone on the team has been great. They’ve make me feel welcomed and it’s been a great experience so far.”

It would have been a better experience Friday if his teammates had played what Murray called “heavy hockey” and asserted themselves from start to finish.

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helene.elliott@latimes.com