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'Mr. King' receives warm hall welcome Print
Pacific
Written by J.P. Hoornstra   
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 00:18

Pacific Division notebook:

Some call him "Lucky." Maybe "Mr. King" is more appropriate.

On Monday, Luc Robitaille earned the right to be called a Hall of Famer, too. The Kings' all-time leading scorer was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto along with Brett Hull, Lou Lamoriello, Brian Leetch and Steve Yzerman.

He certainly didn't get much attention in 1984, when the Kings drafted Robitaille in the ninth round of the entry draft. So during his 19-year-career - in which he scored more goals (668) than any left winger in NHL history - he didn't give the Hall much thought, either.

"I think I thought of it once in my career," he said, "and it lasted about five seconds because I was so scared the next day I was going to play a bad game and the next thing you know I would be back home. So that was always the fear for me."

Robitaille had to feel at home at Monday's induction ceremony. In addition to his wife and son, and his father and mother, recently reclusive ex-teammate Wayne Gretzky was in attendance, and received special mention from Robitaille at the lectern.

Along with Marcel Dionne, who played 12 seasons in Los Angeles, Robitaille is the longest-tenured King of the 14 players to suit up for the franchise who have been enshrined in Hockey's Hall.

Currently the Kings' president of business operations, Robitaille is the public face of the franchise in Southern California. After thanking team governor Tim Leiweke for hiring him into the Kings' front office, Robitaille made a prediction at his induction speech.

"Thanks for living up to your word," Robitaille said. "With the help of (general manager) Dean (Lombardi), we will raise, we will have the Stanley Cup in Los Angeles soon. I can feel it."

ANAHEIM

Teemu Selanne is the NHL's active leader in goals scored (588 after scoring four in his last five games), but has never lit the lamp in the Devils' new Prudential Arena - the only active building he's never scored in. Told by the Orange County Register's Randy Youngman that he can't retire unless he scores there Wednesday, Selanne replied, "I better score then." ... Mike Brown has a career-high two goals already this season - and both are game-winners. A career "energy guy," Brown has seen his ice time increase the past four games since switching places with Evgeny Artyukhin on the Ducks' third line. ... Youngman also reports there have been preliminary discussions between the Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs about goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Asked Monday if he has been approached about waiving his no-trade clause, the goalie neither confirmed nor denied. ... Corey Perry scored his 100th career goal Tuesday against Pittsburgh, and extended his point streak to a career-high eight games against Phoenix on Saturday. Perry was tied for 12th in the league at week's end with 19 points (11 goals, eight assists).

SAN JOSE

Get these guys some frequent-flyer miles! Because of the continued absence of injured forwards Devin Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski, Torrey Mitchell and Ryan Vesce,  Jamie McGinn was recalled from AHL Worcester on Wednesday for the fourth time this season. C Logan Couture has been up and down thrice. D Derek Joslin has been recalled twice, most recently on Thursday after captain Rob Blake (upper body) was injured in Columbus. ... Despite the rash of injuries, the Sharks have matched the Colorado Avalanche at 12-4-2 for the best record in the NHL. ... Is Evgeni Nabokov en route to another 77-game season? The goaltender got a respite in 20 games last season, when the Sharks had veteran Brian Boucher as their No. 2. This year, that job belongs to rookie Thomas Greiss. Head coach Todd McLellan said "as long as (Nabokov) is playing well, we'll keep playing him," after the goalie blanked Pittsburgh for his 49th career shutout Saturday.

DALLAS

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Stars agitator Steve Ott has come under fire in Minnesota for his elbow to the head of Petr Sykora on Saturday. Sykora was diagnosed with a concussion and will be out indefinitely. The NHL has not said if or when it will rule on Ott. ... Brad Richards has logged a point in eight consecutive games, tied for the second-longest active streak in the league.

PHOENIX

The Coyotes finished a stretch of 10 games in 17 days by losing three of their last four. Lower-body injuries to the blue line played a factor; Ed Jovanovski, Zbynek Michalek both missed a 4-3 loss in Anaheim on Saturday. ... Minus their captain and assistant captain, Adrian Aucoin and Vernon Fiddler were given "A"s for the Anaheim game. ... The Coyotes rank fourth in the league in goals-against average (2.26). ... Forward Mikkel Boedker was assigned to San Antonio on Friday. The 19-year-old did has yet to appear in an NHL game this season. ... Defenseman Shaun Heshka was recalled from AHL San Antonio to make his NHL debut Saturday. He was held without a point and finished minus-1.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 06:56