Kings Remain in Their Slump : Hockey: They tie the Canadiens, 5-5. Melrose says that L.A.’s most talented players give the worst performances.

King Coach Barry Melrose met with his team Saturday morning, individually and in small groups. It was time for a talk. The topic: what to do about the team’s seven-game winless streak. The resolution: work hard and pay the price.

At least two Kings heeded the call during Saturday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Melrose credited Dave Taylor and Pat Conacher--two of the team’s oldest players--for preserving a 5-5 tie before 16,005 at the Forum.

It was not the victory Melrose had sought through his encounter sessions, but he made his point as the Kings gained theirs.

“Taylor and Conacher were fantastic,” Melrose said. “They single-handedly changed the course of the game. It shows you that you don’t have to have a lot of talent to work hard. Our most talented players were the worst tonight. (Jari) Kurri, (Luc) Robitaille, (Tony) Granato and (Paul) Coffey were our worst players. We can’t have that.”

Taylor had a goal and an assist and Conacher added two assists as the Kings (20-14-5) continued to struggle. Montreal (22-14-5) had battled the Kings to the identical score when they met last month.

Montreal struck quickly in the first period, getting two goals within 18 seconds. The first came on a power from Kirk Muller.

The next goal came, as did the first, after a faceoff that the Kings had lost. Left wing Mario Roberge flipped a shot at King goalkeeper Kelly Hrudey, who was screened on the play.

By the time anyone had noticed, the Canadiens had taken four shots and scored on two of them. The first King shot did not come until after four minutes into the period.

The teams traded power plays the rest of the period, but neither team was successful with a man advantage. The Kings were one for five and the Canadiens were one for seven.

The Kings got a break near the end of the period when Benoit Brunet was called for a five-minute major for rapping Conacher in the nose with his stick. But even during the five-minute man advantage, the Kings were lethargic and scattered. The closest a King got to the net was when Granato skated through the Montreal crease and goaltender Patrick Roy slapped him in the face with his glove.

The mood changed with 59 seconds left in the period, when Darryl Sydor took the second King shot of the power play. His slap shot from the right point bounced off Mike Donnelly’s stick and into the net.

The Kings kicked it up a notch during the second period, scoring two goals to the Canadiens’ none to take the lead. The Kings’ offensive effort was marred, however, by sloppy play that led to six power plays--including three penalties in five minutes from Robitaille. Melrose called the penalties “selfish” on Robitaille’s part and not what he expects from the team captain.

As the Canadiens had done, the Kings scored their goals nearly back-to-back, 22 seconds apart. The tying goal came from Rob Blake’s slap shot to Roy’s glove side at 15:11.

Taylor put the Kings ahead by following his first shot, taking the puck off Roy’s stick, shifting it from the forehand to backhand side, and stuffing it in.

It was Taylor’s second goal of the year, but it came in only his third game of the season, after sitting out 18 games because of a bruised brain stem.

Taylor set up Sydor for the first goal of the third period, which gave the Kings a 4-2 lead. But the Canadiens scored two unanswered goals to tie the score. Montreal took a 5-4 lead at 16:43 on Muller’s second goal of the game.

But Blake preserved the tie by scoring with only 47 seconds to play in regulation.

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King Notes

Coach Barry Melrose had expressed anger toward defensemen Alexi Zhitnik and Brent Thompson after the Kings’ 4-0 loss to Vancouver on Thursday. Melrose held the two players responsible for the the game’s first goal. Neither player suited up for Saturday’s game. Said Melrose: “They were beginning to take being in the NHL for granted. It’s time those two realize it’s an honor to play in the NHL, not a God-given right.”