Column: Kings are winning, but they’re still looking for their ‘A’ game

It seems harsh to find fault with the Kings, who have won five straight games and will face Columbus on Sunday in the finale of a six-game homestand.

But they became Stanley Cup champions twice in three seasons by achieving high standards, and they readily acknowledge they haven’t yet played as well as they can.

“I think we can definitely agree on that,” center Anze Kopitar said after the team practiced Saturday in El Segundo.

“We’re what, seven games in, and we should start hitting our strides. The last couple of games have been better. We’ve just got to build on it and stay consistent. That’s what it is. You’re trying to get to a point where you feel comfortable playing the game and feeling good about your game and then just try and stay up there as long as you can.”

As Dustin Brown noted, they’ve persevered and that’s good, even if that has meant relying heavily on goaltender Jonathan Quick. “But there’s lots that can improve,” Brown said. That includes their near-league-worst average of 35 shots against per game, up from a second-best 26.2 last season. “Just bringing attention to it before it becomes a problem,” Brown said.

Coach Darryl Sutter attributed the increase to games in which St. Louis took 43 shots and Minnesota took 41, and to what he considers faulty accounting by off-ice officials at Staples Center.

“Our building has a problem with giving the home team shots and the other team more shots. It’s a fact,” Sutter said. “We had a game, three or four games ago, where Kopitar had two quality scoring chances in one shift but he didn’t have a shot on goal in the game.

“There’s lots of people that sit up in the press box that don’t have nothing to do. Somebody should actually do that stat because it’s amazing when you do it yourself what the discrepancy is…. I may not know much, but I can count.”

Center Jarret Stoll said the shots against should decrease if the Kings make quicker, better decisions exiting their zone. “There’s things we’ve got to clean up still,” he said. “We don’t think we have our ‘A’ game yet, but we’re fortunate enough to find ways to win.”

Stoll also said the Kings must get to the net more often in the offensive zone. What he omitted: They need production from more than one line. “That would help,” he said, laughing.

The Tanner Pearson-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli trio has scored 12 of the team’s 16 goals.

“From a structure standpoint, we’ve gotten a lot better as we’ve gone along,” Sutter said. “Now we’re looking for guys to play better.”

KINGS VS. BLUE JACKETS

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 790.

Etc.: Injured Kings forwards Trevor Lewis and Marian Gaborik skated Saturday but aren’t expected to play. Columbus forward Cam Atkinson escaped serious injury after his right eyelid and cheek were sliced by an errant skate Friday during the Blue Jackets’ 4-1 loss at Anaheim, but he’s likely to sit out Sunday. The Blue Jackets didn’t skate Saturday.