Final from St. Paul, Minn.: Wild 3, Kings 2

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On Monday morning the Kings were saying they don’t want to back into the playoffs. After losing to the Wild, 3-2, tonight they now must be worried about backing out of the postseason tournament.

Martin Havlat scored a power-play goal at 7:38 of the third period, a few minutes after the Wild had killed off a two-minute, two-man disadvantage, to provide the winning margin. The Kings were scoreless in five power-play chances in losing their fourth consecutive game.

They stayed seventh in the Western Conference standings with 90 points, one point ahead of Colorado and even in games with the Avalanche. Calgary is ninth with 85 points and has played one more game than the Kings have played. That leaves the Flames with a difficult road -- but one the Kings seem intent on making easier.

Not a good start to a back-to-back sequence that continues Tuesday night in Nashville.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott, reporting from St. Paul, Minn.