When is a home game really a home game? When you watch it from your home? Can you tell how much the NHL network, with its commercials of the tongue-tied coach, gets played in one Pasadena-area household?

On Saturday afternoon, the Kings lost 6-5 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks. And, since the Kings have long been dead ducks with no hope for the playoffs, you would think that another home loss, this one where I was watching from the couch, felled by a horrible cold, wouldn’t bother me. But if you’ve been reading all year, you also know that I’ve used this column to encourage people to go to the games, no matter the team’s record, because you never know what you’ll see.

Today was no different. Three notable occurrences included the first NHL goal of D-man Peter Harrold, the debut in goal (in relief of Dan Cloutier in period two) of Erik Ersberg, and a startling comeback which might have made the all-time highlights lists for Kings fans but for the ultimate loss, 6-5 in overtime.

To take these in order, Harrold’s goal came about five minutes in, and resulted from the Kings’ defensemen pinching down aggressively as they attempted to pressure the Hawks. The play came with the offensive line of Matt Ellis (just over from Detroit), Jeff Giuliano, and Raitis Ivanans on the ice. Giuliano’s feed to the defense came on his second play where he’d carried the puck around the opposition net looking for a chance. This line, in fact, saw a lot of time early on.

The Hawks got one back on the power play before the period ended. They had three power plays in the first, and took the momentum away from the Kings more and more as the clock wound down. The period ended at ones.

The second was all Hawks as they scored four goals. Watching on the tube, it looked a lot to me like the Kings’ D just didn’t help Cloutier out at all. The shots were various versions of point-blankers and bang-ins from guys who just weren’t covered. (And no, for the two of you out there thinking it, Modry wouldn’t have helped the situation any.) The names at fault on the goals included the notables, Johnson and Stuart, but the one who got the hook was the goaltender.

Pity Cloutier. After playing a strong game Thursday night, he told the press, “It’s been a weird season. I’ve been all over the place and at one point, I thought it was all over with this organization. I wasn’t playing all that much in the minors and wasn’t doing much. All of a sudden I get called back up and play the three games. I’m not where I want to be yet; I want to get every game I can and get more experience, but I’ll take every start I can get. I think it was a very good game against a hungry opponent. I thought we clamped down defensively in the second period and played well.” And now two days later, he’s left out to dry.

So in came Ersberg, a Swede who has spent the season thus far in Manchester, leading all goalies there in wins with ten and minutes played with 1,540. He held his own in the second half of the second period, and the game was 5-1 at the end of that frame.

The third started as it should, with the TV guys saying that if the Kings could get a goal early, things could turn around. I drank my fifth cup of watered-down apple juice since 11am and thought, “Sure, sure. Glad I’m not there for this debacle.” Nobody’s any fun as an interview after an embarrassing loss.

Then the Kings potted a goal, with Kopitar, Brown, and Cammalleri on the same line (early in the game, it had been Brown, Kopitar, and Thornton, who had done well in an offensive role) and Cammalleri scoring his first since December (shortly after his last goal, he went out with a rib injury and missed seventeen games).

They were together again about two minutes later when a delayed penalty against the Hawks was signaled. Cammalleri passed over to Preissing on defense, who lofted a half-wrister for goal 3.

Just after, Mr. Ersberg got the surprise of his evening when Sharp broke in alone and tried to make it 6-3. Ersberg held his stick out in poke-check fashion, but made the save with his left pad on the breakaway. It was pretty.

Time went by until about a minute left, when with Ersberg on the bench, O’Sullivan scored off a scramble in front of the net. Then Kopitar did it again with a handful of seconds left, and what had been a 5-1 disaster turned into a 5-5 tie at the end of regulation.

LA has a way of stealing points from teams that need them to position themselves for the playoffs (St. Louis Thursday night, for instance), but in the end, despite the heroics, Chicago won the game in overtime when Patrick Sharp scored on a play where a long wrist shot gave way to a short rebound, and he put it in. One once again asked, “Where the heck is the defense?” and watched as the TV cameras showed a bemused-looking Marc Crawford walking down the ramp to the Kings dressing room. I was wishing I had been able to go by this point. It’s always funny to watch a coach explain the seemingly impossible and random things that happen to turn games around.

And the lessons that can be learned? Well, once again, that the young Kings can score, and when they do, the team can do well. What this tells you is that, with the GM watching, it’s time to bring in some solid veterans to shore up the second line, and get this machine headed toward the playoffs. Not this season, naturally, but July 1st headed into next year. For the sake of the Kings’ fans, though whoever he gets better not be another failed injury experiment (Bure, others) or underperformer (Conroy, Allison). The only guy is a first-tier guy, Mr. L. No substitutes.

The defense stinks, as it has all season, savior Johnson and experienced Stuart and Preissing aside. If Rob Blake is there for leadership, even though he’s hurt, he needs to teach some people some basic lessons in how not to get beat. On this line, the other night when Daniel Carcillo beat Kevin Dallman and scored a picture-perfect goal on LaBarbera, Crawford said something like, “An NHL defenseman doesn’t get beat like that.” I thought, well, Dallman, see you in Manchester. But he’s still up. And this is still a sorry bunch.

Goaltending, goaltending, ah, goaltending. Maybe it’s not fair to ask a miracle of the guy in the mask every night, but what’s more important than a key save? Ersberg proved that on the breakaway chance in period three.

And in terms of the games themselves? You just gotta get a ticket and go. I’m sorry I missed it, but with a throat this sore and ears this plugged, I wouldn’t have been much good in the arena this afternoon, and I probably would have made your favorite writers sick, too, by sitting next to them. By the way, wash your hands when you finish reading this column. No sense you getting it, too.

Brian Kennedy wrote Growing Up Hockey, available at TeamLA and described at growinguphockey.com.