A New King Among Kings

The game belonged to the Kings, who carved out a wild 8-6 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.

The moment belonged to Luc Robitaille.

He capped the game by throwing the puck nearly the length of the ice into an empty net for the fifth hat trick of his career. That added an exclamation point to his evening, during which he broke Marcel Dionne’s team record of 550 career goals.

Robitaille fought to control his emotions after the game, in which his three goals left him with 552 as a King and helped the team rally from a two-goal deficit in the third period.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “It is a special night that I will have in the bank forever. I have had so many great memories here.”

An announced sellout of 18,118 at Staples Center made sure of that, showering Robitaille with long and loud calls of “Luuuc” as he was mobbed by teammates after breaking the record.

Defenseman Mike Weaver sent him on that record-setting journey, with a slick pass that cleared two Thrasher sticks. That freed Robitaille, derided for poor skating abilities early in his career, on a breakaway, and he slipped a shot between goaltender Mike Dunham’s legs 4 minutes 56 seconds into the third period.

“We didn’t know Mike had those passes in him,” Robitaille joked.

As for the moment, Robitaille said, “The crowd surprised me. I wanted this to happen earlier in the season, but it was special to happen at home. That we won made it even better.”

Mattias Norstrom and Jeff Giuliano also had nights they’ll remember, Norstrom with a career-high five points and Giuliano with two goals, the first multi-goal game of his career.

Robitaille lit the fuse for a game in which the momentum swung like a pendulum. He deked Dunham to the ice before scoring to give the Kings a 1-0 lead and tying the record 4:20 into the game. By the end, 10 players had scored goals and 21 players had points, including Kings’ goaltender Jason LaBarbera.

But it was Giuliano’s second goal, 15:02 into the third period, that salvaged what could have been a crushing loss. Giuliano was goal hanging, in perfect position to bat in a rebound to give the Kings a 7-6 lead.

That helped improve a day during which the news got increasingly better for the Kings. Goaltender Mathieu Garon suffered a shoulder injury Tuesday but was able to suit up even though he did not play.

Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who had a cervical strain, retuned to the lineup.

“Matty Norstrom had five points for the first time in his career and he’s not even the first star,” Coach Andy Murray said. “Jeff Giuliano’s scores two goals, including the game-winner. But it’s a special night because of Luc and because we got a big victory.”

Robitaille earned the record during a difficult season. Through three tours with the Kings -- he also played with Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and Detroit -- Robitaille has been counted on for one thing: goals.

That has not been an easy task to fulfill this season. Robitaille missed nine games with a broken bone in his leg during November. He struggled after returning, then was benched for three games by Murray.

But Robitaille has scored five goals in the last seven games.

“I’ve dedicated myself to having a great second half to help the team win,” Robitaille said.

“This is my team, as much as I played for other teams, this is my team. L.A. is my home, and I’m going to stay in L.A. That makes this pretty cool.”

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A new No. 1

Luc Robitaille passed Marcel Dionne on Thursday for most goals scored as a King:

*--* PLAYER GAMES GOALS 1. Luc Robitaille 1,047 552 2. Marcel Dionne 921 550 3. Dave Taylor 1,111 431 4. Bernie Nicholls 602 327 5. Butch Goring 736 275 6. Wayne Gretzky 539 246 7. Charlie Simmer 384 222 8. Mike Murphy 673 194 9. Jim Fox 578 186 10. Bob Berry 539 159

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