RALEIGH, N.C. _ The Carolina Hurricanes may not have a very restful NHL All-Star break.
The Canes staggered into the break with five consecutive losses, losing 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at PNC Arena.
Marian Gaborik's goal with 4:43 left in regulation broke a scoreless tie, and Trevor Lewis and Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who got a 22-save shutout from goalie Peter Budaj.
Canes defenseman Justin Faulk is headed to the All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, which will be his fourth All-Star appearance. The other players will scatter for a few days of relaxation before resuming practice Monday and then facing the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at PNC Arena.
After winning four straight games at home, the Canes (21-20-7) have lost four in a row, including a 7-1 whipping by the Pittsburgh Penguins last week at PNC Arena.
Carolina went into Thursday's game with 49 points, five points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference but with three teams between them and the Flyers, who held the second wild-card spot.
Canes coach Bill Peters said he expected a tough, grinding game against the Kings (24-21-4), and that it was. Canes goalie Cam Ward and Budaj of the Kings were sharp in net when they had to be much of the game and good scoring chances were scarce.
There were more hits than shots in a physical game, with the Canes' Brock McGinn getting one of the biggest on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who will be playing in the All-Star Game _ or three-on-three tournament _ in his home arena.
The Kings were finishing off a four-game Eastern road trip, losing the first two games against the New York Islanders and Rangers but beating the New Jersey Devils, 3-1, on Tuesday. The Canes had the early jump Thursday, with some strong forechecking shifts, but the Kings got stronger as the game moved on.
Canes rookie Sebastian Aho nearly scored in the second period, getting off a shot that glanced off Budaj's stick and blocker, then off the crossbar. Budaj later made another hustling stop on Aho later in the period.
The Canes had a pair of power plays in each of the second and third periods, but couldn't convert. Carolina had five power-play shots against the Kings, the team allowing the fewest shots per game in the NHL.
Ward also made some high-quality stops. In the first, Kings center Anze Kopitar jumped out of the penalty box, took a stretch pass and broke in on Ward, only to miss the net.
Ward made some good stops in the second period after some Canes turnovers. He turned away a Tanner Pearson shot after a loose pass by Ron Hainsey, and later stopped Andy Andreoff after the Canes lost the puck in their defensive zone.
