Kings’ Tie a Work Lesson

The display on the ice was hardly an offensive gem -- it rarely is when the Minnesota Wild is involved -- but the Kings discovered a few things along the way.

There are teams that can outwork them, and, no matter what the scouting report says, the Wild can score a backbreaking goal here and there.

The Kings were 2:17 away from victory when the latter happened, a late score by Jason Wiemer that earned the Wild a 1-1 tie Thursday before a deflated sellout crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center.

And with that, the Kings missed a chance to move five points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They will have to settle for a four-point edge with 16 games left to play for each team.

“We got outworked by a team that was playing in the month of May last year when we were sitting on our butts watching other teams play,� King Coach Andy Murray said. “That’s unacceptable.

“We played like a team that was looking at a team that was quite a bit below them in the standings. I saw signs of that at practice today. We’ve got some guys that need an attitude shake-up.�

The Kings were shaken after giving up a late goal to a team that has scored fewer than two goals in 28 games.

It started when Minnesota winger Pierre-Marc Bouchard took all the time he wanted behind the King net, watching and waiting as King defensemen Mattias Norstrom and Nathan Dempsey stood at each post like sentries. Bouchard found Wiemer cutting through the slot for a one-timer that beat Huet above the blocker.

Voila, two points in the standings were reduced to one.

“Losing a huge point at this time of the season is disappointing,� Norstrom said. “It felt like a loss.�

Luc Robitaille, 38, appeared to give the Kings the only goal they would need at 18:58 of the first period. With Trent Klatt providing a screen in front, Robitaille skated out from behind the net and wristed a shot from the right circle that got under Dwayne Roloson’s stick and through his legs.

But the Kings had only three shots in the second period and five in the third. They were outshot in overtime, 6-3.

“We got outworked tonight,� Norstrom said. “That hasn’t happened in such a long time.�

Huet was able to preserve a 1-0 lead for a while with a succession of saves inside the 17:25 mark of the second period. With the Kings on the power play, Marian Gaborik stole the puck from Denis Grebeshkov at the point and moved in alone on Huet.

Gaborik tied to beat Huet between the legs and was stopped. He tried to knock the rebound through Huet’s legs and was stopped again. Then, for good measure, Huet denied Pascal Dupuis’ follow-up attempt. Three shots, three saves, no goals.

On the positive side for the Kings, forward Martin Straka played for the first time since Jan. 10. Straka, who sat out 23 games because of a torn ligament in his left knee and torn cartilage in both knees, had one shot in 18:26 of ice time.

Dempsey also played after being acquired Tuesday from the Chicago Blackhawks. Dempsey, paired with Tim Gleason, logged 23:20 of ice time.

In the end, however, the Kings were caught from behind.

“We didn’t play with the passion and energy we usually have,� Murray said.