Sliding Kings get test with Carolina

The Kings will confront the Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL’s best team by points percentage, in a matinee today at Staples Center.

The Kings ended a seven-game unbeaten streak with an overtime loss against Winnipeg last week and snapped their string of eight consecutive contests with a point against Washington on Wednesday in a 2-0 loss.

Nevertheless, their compete level has been high and their defensive game has been strong. In their two losses, they allowed just one goal five-on-five — a shorthanded goal, a three-on-three overtime winner and an empty-net tally were ceded otherwise — and continued to excel in goal and on the penalty kill. They have killed 20 of their last 22 penalties and surrendered just 16 total goals in the same nine-game stretch.

“I thought that we actually had two good games. Systemswise, we were really good,” forward Trevor Moore said.

The flipside is the Kings have scored just four goals in their past three games, placing an onus on their goaltending, undermanned defense and penalty kill. Moore said the Kings worked on finishing around the net in practice, and few would understand the Kings’ offensive frustrations better. The versatile, energetic forward’s one-timer at the side of

Today: Hurricanes at Kings, 1 p.m. BSW

the net was centimeters from giving the Kings a 1-0 lead Wednesday, and in general his highlight reel this season would be full of struck crossbars, dented posts and other near misses.

“I think, as a group, we’re going to get there,” Moore said. “There’s too many talented guys for (pucks) not to go in.”

The Kings appear poised to shuffle their lines, with Adrian Kempe moving up to the top line with Anze Kopitar and Viktor Arvidsson, and Dustin Brown sliding down to the third line with Moore and center Rasmus Kupari. Brown has two goals in 17 games and has not found the back of the net since Oct. 23. Kempe recently pieced together a six-game point streak and four consecutive games with a goal.

Coach Todd McLellan was careful, after the Washington game and after a recent practice, to dismiss any notion that Brown’s moving down in the lineup was an indictment of his performance.

“He’s 37 years old, he leads us in hits, he’s shot the puck and he’s played a hard, aggressive game — he’s doing a lot of the things,” McLellan said. “He’s provided leadership and he’s done the things that you ask of him, it’s just not going in for him right now.”