Kings done in by veteran duo

The power play went cold, the goaltending went sour and the Kings let two 30-something centers deliver their best performances in a long while.

So much for the three-game winning streak.

Michael Peca scored two goals, Sergei Fedorov had a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Kings, 4-3, Thursday night at Staples Center.

Peca, 33, who missed the previous four games with a concussion, scored the game-winner at the 14:42 mark of the third period, taking a pass from Jason Chimera, who had skated out from behind the net and found Peca at the top of the right face-off circle.

Peca beat Kings goalie Jason LaBarbera, who had replaced starter J.S. Aubin at 6:05 of the second period after Aubin gave up three goals on 12 shots. It was the first two-goal effort for Peca this season.

“It was a tight game like we expected,” Kings defenseman Brad Stuart said. “We just had a bit of a letdown in the last five minutes and, sometimes, that’s what close games come down to.”

Coach Marc Crawford said during the morning skate that he expected the Kings’ power play to occupy a big role against the Blue Jackets, who were coming off a 2-1 loss Wednesday night to the Ducks.

The Kings had moved up to No. 4 in the league in power play efficiency after converting five of seven opportunities in a 9-2 victory Tuesday against visiting Chicago, but couldn’t get anything past Columbus goalie Fredrik Norrena in five power-play opportunities. Columbus entered the game with the league’s third-best penalty-killing unit.

Patrick O’Sullivan had a goal and an assist to lead the Kings. He delivered a great individual effort to tie the score, 3-3, at 8:01 of the third period, working his way around defenseman Ron Hainsey and coming out from behind the net, where he tried to shove it in the goal on the near side. The puck caromed in the air and he took a baseball swing at the puck, connecting just below shoulder level and knocking it into the net.

“I saw it coming and I did wait a little bit,” said O’Sullivan, who has four goals in his last six games. “It was still probably pretty close.”

The goal was reviewed but quickly allowed. For O’Sullivan, a 22-year-old from Winston-Salem, N.C., it was his 11th of the season. O’Sullivan also assisted on the Kings’ second goal, which tied the score at 2-2, early in the second period.

Fedorov, who turned 38 last month, gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead with a left-handed slap shot at 12:21 of the first period. Joakim Lindstrom gathered the puck off the boards and found Fedorov alone between the top of the circles and he beat Aubin to his left.

It was the seventh goal of the season for Fedorov, the former Duck. It was also the 468th goal of his career, tying him with Pat LaFontaine at No. 46 on the all-time list.

Brian Willsie and Dustin Brown scored off deflected shots to eliminate one-goal deficits, but the Blue Jackets answered each of those to take a 3-2 lead entering the third period.

After Peca redirected a centering pass from Jared Boll to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead six minutes into the second period, Crawford had seen enough of Aubin.

It was the second time in five games he has had a quick hook with his goalie.

He yanked LaBarbera in favor of Aubin in the first period Dec. 26 after he gave up two goals on nine shots in a 3-2 loss to visiting San Jose.