Robitaille Suspended Four Games : Kings: A stick foul will force high-scoring left wing out of lineup, but when?

Everybody knew it was coming, but that didn’t make the news any more palatable at the Forum.

In the midst of the hottest start in their history, the Kings, who lead the Smythe Division with a 13-4-1 record, learned that left wing Luc Robitaille, one of the team’s offensive stars, had been suspended for four games by the NHL for a stick foul committed last Saturday.

Referee Kerry Fraser ruled that Robitaille had deliberately attempted to injure the Edmonton Oilers’ Craig Simpson when he checked him from behind.

“It is clear that Robitaille acted out of retaliation for a previous check,� said Bryan O’Neill, the league’s executive vice president. “And it is also clear that he struck the Edmonton player with considerable force, even though no injury resulted. In addition, the act was deliberate and therefore the match penalty was the appropriate penalty.�

Robitaille saw it more simply.

“I got hit, I hit him back,� he said after the incident. “I didn’t have the puck when he hit me. I’ve been cross-checked like that (referring to his foul against Simpson) 10 times in a game.�

With the league cracking down on violence in general and stick fouls in particular, though, there seemed little doubt what the verdict would be, especially since:

--Fraser had ruled that Robitaille intended to do Simpson harm.

--Robitaille’s stick broke on Simpson’s shoulder, magnifying the severity of the blow.

--Jim Christison, a league supervisor of officials, was in the Forum watching that night.

“He’s not a dirty guy,� King General Manager Rogie Vachon said of Robitaille. “He had only two (actually 14) minutes of penalties before this. It’s tough to lose a guy like Robitaille, especially when he’s not injured. But we have to live with it.�

The question is, though, when do they have to live with it?

The Kings have a week to decide if they are going to appeal. Although Vachon indicated that they would not appeal, the Kings can still wait the seven days before starting the suspension.

It would appear that the team would be better off sitting Robitaille down now. They still have two games at home, where they have won a record eight in a row, before beginning a five-game trip.

Complicating the decision, Tomas Sandstrom, left wing on the Kings’ first line, got hit near the eye with a puck Wednesday night. Although X-rays were negative, Sandstrom was scheduled to have further testing today. He was hit in the same spot where he suffered a broken cheekbone last season.

Should Sandstrom miss any time over the next week, the Kings probably could not afford to lose Robitaille as well.

If Sandstrom can remain in the lineup, though, Robitaille probably will not.