The difference between the Kings and the reigning Stanley Cup champions was evident when Chicago swept the season series Monday. Put differently, Terry Murray's troops are playing at a 5-handicap.

January was supposed to be get-well time for the Kings. Coming off a 6-3 loss to the Coyotes in Glendale on Dec. 29, they returned to Los Angeles for an eight-game stretch at Staples Center, where they owned a 13-2-1 record on home ice.

Three straight losses later, the Kings’ losing skid is up to four, matching a season long. Suddenly the homestand has become a time for soul-searching.

“We’ve got five games left on this homestand here and that’s a lot of time to make up points,” defenseman Matt Greene said. “It’s by no means over, that’s for sure. We’ve got a lot of time left here, but we’ve got a lot of things in this room here that we’ve got to figure out to get us those points on the ice. That’s something this homestand is going to give us a chance to do. It’s up to us as players to do that.”

The last two losses were measuring-stick games against reigning Western Conference semifinalists San Jose and Chicago. In each, the Kings were confronted with a sobering reality: They had created more chances their opponent but still found themselves on the losing end of a one-goal game.

At a time when NHL contenders are supposed to be separating themselves from pretenders, the Kings are finding themselves on the wrong side of the equation.

Their 4-3 loss to Chicago on Monday gave the Blackhawks a four-game sweep of the season series. For the Kings, who have Stanley Cup ambitions of their own, it showed what they’re missing.

“They still have that attitude, that swagger that ‘yeah, we won.’ That doesn’t go away,” Kings forward Justin Williams said of the ‘Hawks. “Winning a lot of close games and knowing how to win doesn’t go away.”

Kings head coach Terry Murray used an analogy from golf to explain Chicago’s season sweep.

“It’s like the pro playing against the 5-handicap golfer,” Murray said. “He just has to play the game because he knows, if you’re a 5-handicapper, something is going to give somewhere down the road. You’re going to make that decision with the puck, you’re going to make the bad pass, and there’s going to maybe be that opportunity in the game. Some days, that 5-handicap golfer might win the game, but unfortunately I think we shot ourselves in the foot again here tonight, with the intensity and with the details with the puck.”

Murray gave his team the day off practice Tuesday.

Maybe playing a round of golf isn’t such a bad way for the players to clear their heads after all.

Notes

Phoenix assigned F Mikkel Boedker to AHL affiliate San Antonio. Boedker has one assist in four games as a Coyote and 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 26 games with the Rampage. … The Sharks allowed 47 shots to the Canucks in a 4-3 loss Monday, the most they’ve allowed in a game this season and the second-most taken this season by Vancouver. … Charlie Coyle, the 28th overall pick in the most recent draft by the Sharks, was held scoreless in Team USA’s 4-1 loss to Canada in the semifinals of the World Junior championship on Monday. Coyle, a freshman at Boston University, has a team-high two goals and six points in five tournament games. … A pair of prospects made their NHL debuts this week – forwards Andrew Desjardins and Brandon Mashinter. Desjardins began his pro career in 2007-08 in the unlikely locale of Laredo, Texas. … The Ducks placed Ryan Getzlaf on injured reserve Friday after the center was struck between the eyebrows by a Shane Doan shot Tuesday in Glendale and suffered multiple nasal sinus fractures. … The Ducks announced that 2010 second-round draft pick Devante Smith-Pelly signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $750,000 a season. The 18-year-old right wing has 20 goals and 37 points in 33 games for Mississauga of the OHL. … Anaheim acquired Maxim Lapierre from the Montreal Canadiens Friday for minor-league defenseman Brett Festerling and a fifth-round 2012 draft pick. Lapierre couldn’t make his debut on Sunday in Anaheim because he didn’t have an American work visa. … Stars prospect Jack Campbell was voted Team USA Player of the Game on Monday at the World Junior championships. Campbell made 37 saves in the losing effort. … James Neal broke a 10-game goal drought, during which he was moved off the top line, with his tally in the Stars’ 4-2 win over the Blues on Sunday. … Defenseman Trevor Daley signed a six-year, $19.8 million contract extension Friday.

Photos by Getty Images

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