KINGS ALL MIXED UP, LOSE OFFENSE STRUGGLES TO FIND RHYTHM MINNESOTA 2, KINGS 1.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND  Staff Writer

Marc Crawford dressed in a dark suit Wednesday night, but he might as well have worn a lab coat.

With the Kings mired in a three-game losing streak, and precious home games already disappearing from the schedule, Crawford resembled a coaching chemist, given the way he mixed lines against the Minnesota Wild.

Craig Conroy with Alexander Frolov. Michael Cammalleri with Dustin Brown. Sean Avery with ... pretty much everyone. Crawford tried everything to revitalize an offense that had totaled just three goals in its previous three games, and his moves led to mixed results.

The Kings generated scoring chances by the bunches but had trouble finding the back of the net again and lost to the Wild 2-1 in overtime in front of 14,617 at Staples Center.

In their past four games, the Kings have totaled four goals and just one point in the standings.

The Wild took a second point when Marian Gaborik scored 25 seconds into overtime. The Kings outshot the Wild 35-27 but went 0 for 6 on the power play and are now 1 for 30 in their past four games.

``The proof is in the pudding,'' Cammalleri said. ``No matter how many chances you create, you realize that at some point you have to score. We've done some good things in the last couple games. We've got some point shots through and battled in front of the net, but it's not enough.''

Rookie forward Patrick O'Sullivan, whom the Kings acquired from Minnesota in exchange for Pavol Demitra in a June trade, scored his first NHL goal in the second period to tie the score 1-1.

O'Sullivan, 21, had been one of the brightest prospects in the Wild system and made the Kings' roster out of training camp, but was a healthy scratch last week when Crawford demanded a consistent work ethic.

But O'Sullivan was the only King to break through, and while they turned in a strong effort against an undefeated Minnesota team, the Kings once again came away frustrated with their inability to score.

``We've got to convert on some of these chances,'' Crawford said. ``We're generating some really good, high-quality chances. If you keep the work ethic at a high level, those things will start to go in for you.''

Generating offense figured to be the Kings' primary problem this season, given that the roster featured only one true veteran scorer in Craig Conroy, backed up by a group of unproven youngsters.

That leaves Crawford, a self-admitted fan of tinkering with line matchups, to put together units that have enough talent and chemistry to overcome the Kings' inexperience.

``The core of our team is mostly young guys,'' O'Sullivan said, ``so everybody needs to step up and generate some offense. We need to find a way to win games. That's the bottom line.''

The Kings got a solid game from goaltender Dan Cloutier, who stopped 25 of 27 shots, but Cloutier was left hanging on the first shift of overtime after an offensive-zone turnover by Sean Avery.

Gaborik stripped the puck and fed a pass to Demitra, who carried it into the Kings' zone. Demitra then fed a pass to Gaborik, who beat Avery to the crease and poked the puck past Cloutier.

``At this point there's no reason to kick ourselves,'' team captain Mattias Norstrom said. ``We just lost three games, but at least now we're able to walk away and say we're on the right track.''

The Kings generated quality scoring chances but were turned away by Wild goalie Manny Fernandez, who entered the game with a stellar 1.77 goals-against average, and the Wild took a 1-0 lead 10:09 into the first period when Brian Rolston knocked in a rebound.

O'Sullivan's goal tied the score with 1:34 remaining in the first period, after the video-goal judge concluded that the Kings' Brian Willsie did not conclusively kick the puck into the net.

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Kings defenseman Mattias Norstrom skates around Minnesota's Mikko Koivu in the second period Wednesday.

John McCoy/Staff Photograper

Box:

KINGS at PHOENIX

- Rich Hammond