LITTLE POWER FOR L.A. MAN-UP SITUATIONS PLAGUE KINGS IN TIE KINGS 0, SAN JOSE 0.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

For maybe the first time since he was traded five weeks ago, Rob Blake's absence cast a huge shadow.

In a lock-down struggle between two teams grasping for playoff positioning, the Kings were begging for that big shot from the blue line Monday night when they faced the San Jose Sharks.

Defensemen Jaroslav Modry and Mathieu Schneider tried, but in a 0-0 tie played in front of 15,276 at Staples Center, the Kings desperately needed the big man they traded away.

It never was clearer than on the Kings' power play, which went 0 for 7 against the Sharks. Blake, now with the Colorado Avalanche, used to bang away from the perimeter. Some shots went in, some were scored by teammates.

The Kings had such a chance with 11 minutes left and Sharks' captain when Sharks' captain Owen Nolan was called for roughing after putting his right shoulder into Ziggy Palffy.

The Sharks had their best chance in the first minute of overtime when former Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne skated in on Kings goaltender Felix Potvin, but Selanne's shot hit the crossbar. For Potvin, who stopped just 15 shots, it was his third shutout since joining the Kings last month.

All night, Palffy was a target of Sharks' defenseman Gary Suter, whose physical play limited the Kings sniper to just two shots in the first two periods. The Sharks did it because they could.

The Kings played much of the third period in the Sharks end, but when it came time for the power play, there wasn't much they could do.

Palffy almost scored with four minutes left during a flurry in front of the Sharks' rookie goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Palffy swooped in front on the left side, but Nabokov slid to cover the net and blocked the shot with his pads stacked on top of each other.

But there was little more than that.

With the tie, the Kings (34-28-12) moved within a point a Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. San Jose (35-26-12) still has just one victory in its last 14 games, but the Sharks remain in seventh place, one point behind No. 6 Edmonton.

It was the third of four games between the two clubs during a 14-day span that ends tonight in San Jose. The Kings won the first two last week to help them move back into the playoff picture.

The tone Monday was much different from the meeting between these teams two weeks ago. Even without Selanne, the Sharks took 40 shots at Potvin, who turned away 39 in a 4-1 victory in San Jose.

It was Potvin's best performance with the Kings. He came back three days later and shut out the Sharks 1-0 on an overtime goal by Bryan Smolinski. But the game in San Jose proved Potvin could win games by himself.

Coming off the back-to-back victories last week, the Kings continued to play a tight-checking game against the Sharks. That didn't translate into much scoring, but at least they kept the puck away from Selanne.

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Photo: Mathieu Schneider (10) of the Kings shoves his hand into the face of San Jose's Bill Lindsay Monday night at Staples Center.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News