KINGS NOT KIDDING AROUND YOUNGER PLAYERS GET LONGER LOOKS.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

With only pride and draft position left to play for, this is the time for the Kings to experiment a little.

The present is dim -- the Kings, in last place in the Western Conference, lost to Vancouver 3-2 Thursday night -- so they're looking to what they hope is a bright future.

Lauri Tukonen became the latest kid to get the call, as the 20-year-old winger made his NHL debut and joined a small squadron of under-25 Kings hoping to make a strong impression for the future.

In addition to Tukonen, the Kings are giving significant minutes to Dustin Brown (age 22), Michael Cammalleri (24), Alexander Frolov (24), Anze Kopitar (19), Patrick O'Sullivan (22) and John Zeiler (24).

That group entered Thursday with a combined 741 NHL games, more than 300 fewer than Rob Blake.

Zeiler scored his first NHL goal in the first period to give the Kings an early lead, but Vancouver's Kevin Bieksa broke a 2-2 tie with 3:56 remaining to give the Canucks their sixth consecutive victory.

"It was a great game, a tough-fought battle," Zeiler said. "Getting that first (goal) off your back is a good feeling. You always dream about playing in the NHL and then to get your first goal, it makes it that much more special."

The Kings have won just four of their past 19 games and are 1-7 in their past eight games decided by one goal.

Since his arrival in April, Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi has preached the power of developing young talent, the same strategy he used to turn San Jose into a perennial power.

Lombardi's trades have focused on bringing draft picks to the Kings, and recent minor-league callups and line pairings make it clear Lombardi and first-year coach Marc Crawford want to evaluate youth.

In recent days, Crawford has said he's not bringing up players such as Tukonen and Zeiler simply because they're young, but it certainly doesn't seem to hurt their cause. In recent weeks, Crawford has stuck with a first line of Kopitar, Brown and O'Sullivan, who have a combined age of 63.

The Kings shook things up and gave Tukonen a shot alongside Kopitar and Brown, a further sign that evaluation will be a big part of the final six weeks of the season, maybe even more than competition.

Another sign was the Staples Center crowd, announced at 17,737, although a pocket of a couple dozen Vancouver fans roared their support.

The good feelings from Zeiler's first goal didn't last long.

With 3:48 left in the first period, Brendan Morrison, camped out to the left of the net, knocked in a rebound of a shot by teammate Sami Salo.

Vancouver took the lead 1:34 into the second period, when Trevor Linden came up the left side and put a relatively harmless wrist shot on goalie Mathieu Garon that got into the net for a 2-1 Canucks lead.

All in attendance got a good look at Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, whose strong play is a major reason why the Canucks have surged into first place in the Northwest Division.

Vancouver entered the game with the NHL's best penalty-kill unit, but with five minutes left in the second period, Lubomir Visnovsky flipped the puck over the prone Luongo to tie the score 2-2.

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Vancouver's Markus Naslund brings the puck up against the Kings' Brent Sopel in Thursday's game at Staples Center.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images