[0] LACKLUSTER, INJURED KINGS TIE EDMONTON : KINGS 1, EDMONTON 1.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Next to losing, being boring is the worst thing the Kings can do in their new arena. But as they attempt to regroup without top players Luc Robitaille and Jozef Stumpel, both injured, they had little to show in Tuesday's 1-1 tie with the Edmonton Oilers.

In front of 13,282, by far the smallest crowd to see a hockey game at the Staples Center, the Kings weren't muscled the way they were Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

They were lulled to sleep.

``They looked like they got a little nervous out there in the third period,'' Oilers coach Kevin Lowe said of the Kings. ``The fans were booing and they started to get a kind of tight.''

Robitaille should be back in three weeks after suffering a broken left foot, but Stumpel will be sidelined two to three months recovering from abdominal surgery.

Meanwhile, the Kings, unbeaten in six in a row, are also winless in their last two. A week ago, they had the league's top power play. Tuesday, they went 0 for 6 with the man advantage.

The scariest thing is not the occasional flat game. It's not even the way the Kings were beat up by the Flyers. But without Robitaille and Stumpel, they are no longer among the NHL's elite teams. Maybe they never really were, but in October they led the league in goals and were tied for the best record in the Western Conference.

``We might not want to admit it, but without those guys we are still trying to make adjustments,'' said Bryan Smolinski, who scored the Kings' only goal. ``It takes a little bit to make changes when you lose players of that caliber, but we will make that change.''

Without starting goaltender Stephane Fiset, who put a scare into the club when he suffered a bruised right hand during pregame warmups, the Kings weren't challenged until the third period. Replacement Jamie Storr faced just 10 shots in the first two periods but 16 in the third and three in overtime.

The Kings clearly are a different team with their missing stars. Aside from Smolinski's goal that tied the game midway through the first period, there wasn't much to talk about.

Kings defenseman Garry Galley hit the post late in the second period. Third line center Ian Laperriere received two 10-minute misconduct penalties. Does that count?

``We just didn't play very well,'' he said. ``Especially on the power play. That has been a strength of ours all year.''

But Murray disagreed that the power play needs a major adjustment. He is tinkering, however. Without Robitaille and Stumpel, the Kings combined Ziggy Palffy with second-liners Smolinski and Donald Audette and moved Glen Murray to the point.

``All these guys have played together,'' Murray said. ``When we get to practice tomorrow, we will work it out.''

The two teams played three weeks ago in Edmonton, an exciting end-to-end 5-4 victory for the Oilers, who are one of the league's quickest teams. But this was a winnable game for the Kings, no matter who was on the ice.

Edmonton came in as the league's only winless team (0-5) on the road this season. But the Oilers did get back their leading scorer Bill Guerin, who missed the first month in a contract dispute.

Smolinski, who was named NHL Player of the Week earlier this month, centers the Kings' second line, which is being asked to pick up the scoring. But part of the reason for the Kings 9-3-3 record after the first five weeks was balance.

First-liners Robitaille, Stumpel and Palffy were all in the league's top 10 in scoring. The second unit of Smolinski, Murray and Audette had 30 points in 10 games before facing the Flyers.

Tuesday, Palffy was rarely seen after the first period when he was flattened on a check by Edmonton's Jason Smith.