[0] KINGS FLOP IN FIRST PERIOD, CAN'T COME BACK VS. SHARKS : SAN JOSE 5 KINGS 2.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

The Kings have played spotty, lifeless hockey the past month or so but have somehow managed to get away with it, winning more games than they've lost. With the playoffs only weeks away, coach Larry Robinson has admitted he's concerned.

On Thursday, his team gave him another good reason to worry.

In their worst period of the season, the Kings allowed the San Jose Sharks four unanswered goals in the first 20 minutes and, while they ultimately came to life, went on to lose 5-2 before an announced crowd of 12,820 at the Forum.

With the loss, L.A., trying to catch fourth-place St. Louis and claim home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, fell five points behind the Blues with only 12 games to go. St. Louis, with 11 games left, beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Thursday.

``The one thing I wanted from them was a team effort and I got exactly that: The whole team stunk in the first period,'' Kings coach Larry Robinson said.

``Usually, you can point to one or two guys who did a few things right, but I couldn't find anybody.''

Going into Thursday's game, the Kings (33-26-11) had won two straight and were 6-3 in their past nine. However, they were doing barely enough to get by: Of those six victories, five were by a single goal.

Robinson said before Thursday's game that his players weren't doing the things associated with an honest effort on a consistent basis: battling for the puck, finishing checks, covering for one another.

That was the first period in a nutshell.

In a forgettable span of 18:07, four Sharks - Jeff Friesen, Tony Granato, Dave Lowry and John MacLean - gave San Jose that monstrous four-goal lead.

Friesen simply beat Kings goaltender Stephane Fiset, taking the puck in from the right side, slashing across the crease and pushing it in at 6:10.

In each of the other three goals, the Sharks players who scored were left alone in front of the net. Granato knocked in a rebound at 7:39; Lowry took a pass from Ron Sutter from behind the net and slapped it in at 14:33, and MacLean, on a pass from Shawn Burr, wristed in the fourth goal from between the circles.

The Sharks, a sub-.500 team that had lost four straight, ended the period with a 13-5 shot advantage.

``It's not how we played (in the first period). We didn't play at all,'' said Kings defenseman Garry Galley. ``It's inexcusable. We should be posturing for home-ice advantage, we should be building confidence going into the playoffs.

``I don't think we realize how important it is to have home-ice advantage. If we play a seventh game, we will.''

As is typical, the Kings suddenly realized it was a game night and decided to join in on the fun.

On one of their strongest power plays of the season, they bombarded Sharks goaltender Mike Vernon with shots until Jozef Stumpel passed across the crease to Craig Johnson, who scored from in front of the net at 2:15 of the second period.

Stumpel made it 4-2 2:14 into the third period, taking a pass from Vladimir Tsyplakov and wristing it past Vernon to give his team hope.

However, the Kings - who outshot San Jose a resounding 27-8 in the second and third periods - could get no closer. Now, they must open what is sure to a taxing six-game road trip coming off one of their most discouraging performances of the season.

What is a coach to do?

``If I have to scream and yell to get them to play the way they're supposed to play at this juncture, we have more to worry about than one game,'' Robinson said, referring to their prospects in the playoffs. ``If we continue to play like this, we're in big trouble.''

Recovering: Luc Robitaille, recuperating from March 2 hernia surgery, skated for the third time on Thursday morning and feels good about his progress.

``It's still a little bit (sore). You gotta be careful. It feels good, though,'' he said.Robitaille, 32, is expected back for the playoffs, which begin April 22. He's hoping to come back sooner.

``I'd like to come around April 14,'' which would give him three regular-season games in which to build momentum going into the playoffs.

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Photo

Photo: (Color) Although San Jose's Bill Houlder is held down by the Kings' Steve McKenna in the first period, L.A. couldn't hold down the Sharks.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News