Robitaille Waits for His Chance

A throng of Canadian hockey media was poised, waiting for the Kings’ Luc Robitaille after the morning skate Monday at General Motors Place.

He delayed the dissection momentarily, as he autographed a stick for a kid, then braced for the same questions that have come at him for four days.

Robitaille sat out Monday’s game against Vancouver, the third consecutive game he has been scratched. It is the longest streak of games he has missed for non-health reasons in his 19-season career.

“As a player, it [stinks],” he said. “That’s the way the game goes. I’m not a quitter. I don’t want to be traded. Los Angeles is my city and the Kings are my team. I have great teammates here.”

Robitaille said that he feels he can still play, even though he has only five goals in 21 games this season. He missed nine games with a broken bone in his leg.

“I was too slow 20 years ago, I was too slow 15 years ago, I was too slow 10 years ago,” Robitaille said. “I’ll just wait for my chance and be ready.”

The decision has left his teammates with nothing but empathy.

“It’s really tough on Luc,” Jeremy Roenick said. “He has so much respect around the league and in this dressing room. Everyone in this room is rooting of him. It’s been tough on him and [Coach] Andy Murray.”

Murray pulled Robitaille from the lineup for Friday’s game against the Mighty Ducks, saying that it was for matchups. Still, Murray and Robitaille have occasionally clashed in the past.

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The Kings placed forward Jeff Cowan on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Cowan re-injured his hamstring during a workout Sunday. Murray said he could re-join the team on its three-game trip, but Cowan showed no improvement.