Backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz played solid in replacement for Rick DiPietro, one of three players to sit out because of the illness. But the offense failed to provide support against a Kings team that entered the contest with the NHL’s lowest point total.

Instead of putting a solid effort against a young team, the Islanders took one penalty too many, setting up Rob Blake’s game-winning tally with the man advantage in a 3-1 loss in front of another small crowd at Nassau Coliseum.

The loss, coupled with a Rangers victory, knocked the Isles out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It also stretched the home losing streak to six, a stretch that could prove to be the determining factor when the final postseason positions are settled.

“We need to get this thing going whether we shake up the line combinations or shorten our shifts to get out of this funk we’re in,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said.

Defenseman Bryan Berard provided the only excitement all night for the home team. He intercepted Lubomir Visnovsky’s pass intended for Brian Willsie in the Kings zone and fired a shot that beat goalie Jason LeBarbera stick-side to tie it at 1 at 14:19 in the first.

LaBarbera would not allow anything more after that, finishing with 28 saves. The netminder extended the Islanders losing streak to three games before they head into Montreal on Saturday.

Assistant captain Mike Sillinger said perhaps a change of scenery could ignite a spark, though the 16-year veteran says wins need to start coming at home in order to make a return trip to the postseason.

“We were a good team at home last year and we made the playoffs,” Sillinger said. “We’re going to have to pick up our play. Especially in our building, we have to come out from the first shift.

“It seems like we’ve been stuck at 54 points for awhile. It’s frustrating, but it’s no time to start pointing fingers.”

Los Angeles couldn’t muster anything on special teams early on, going scoreless through the first four power play opportunities. That changed on the fifth try after the Islanders were tagged for having too many men on the ice midway through the final period.

Winger Dustin Brown glided a shot from the point that connected with Blake, who was stationed right in front of the crease. Blake extended his stick blade in time to deflect the puck through Dubielewicz’s pads, giving the Kings a 2-1 lead with 12:38 remaining in the game. Alexander Frolov added an empty-net goal for the clincher.

“W were in the box a lot,” said Berard, who also took a shift on the Islanders lone power play opportunity. “Our penalty killing’s been great for us, but they’re going to score [occasionally]. That was the difference tonight.”

Berard was one of five players who missed Wednesday’s practice with the flu. DiPietro, Andy Sutton and Ruslan Fedotenko sat out, but Berard and Sillinger both contributed. Nolan said health wasn’t an issue. He even called a lackluster second period that featured no scoring an experience as exciting as watching paint dry.

“The fact remains we didn’t compete,” Nolan said. “We didn’t find a way.”

Matt Moulson scored the opening goal 10:35 into the first. His fifth tally of the season helped the Kings improve to 6-2-1 in the past nine games. It also gave los Angeles three points through the first two contests of a 15-day trip that encompasses games against entire Atlantic Division along with matchups against Detroit, Columbus and St. Louis.

Dubielewicz made the first save against Moulson but couldn’t stop his second chance that was pushed into the net before the goalie could stop it with his left pad.

“The guy came around the net and tried to wrap it. It went off something in front.,” Dubielewicz said. “That’s our luck right now: he misses it and gets a second whack and puts it in. It’s the way things are going for us.”

Standing by his locker after the emergency start, Dubielewicz said the losses are frustrating, though he insisted there are positives that can be taken into Montreal.

“We’re in a pretty big hole right now but hopefully we took a good step tonight towards climbing our way out.”

Notes: During the second period, the announced crowd of 10,148 sounded like a Lincoln Center audience during the middle of a performance. It was the second straight home game in which the attendance figure failed to crack the 11,000 mark…DiPietro dressed and was available as the backup goalie…Brendan Witt was the only Islander to finish with a positive rating in the plus-minus category.