Robitaille Gives Kings the Edge : Hockey: He scores on an assist from Gretzky at 2:13 of overtime to defeat the Oilers, 4-3, in series opener. His goal in the third period tied it after Los Angeles squandered a 2-0 lead.

Finally.

After nine years, 11 consecutive losses, an additional 60 minutes of regulation and 2:13 of overtime, the Kings have won a second-round playoff game.

Taking a drop pass from Wayne Gretzky at the top of the left circle, Luc Robitaille smacked a shot past forward Mark Lamb and over the right shoulder of goalie Bill Ranford to give the Kings a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night in Game 1 of the Smythe Division finals before a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005.

Game 2 will be played Saturday night at the Forum.

The Kings, who have failed to survive the second round in six previous tries, have been swept in this round the past two seasons.

“After having lost four straight each of the last two years,” Gretzky said, “it would have been a big psychological thing to overcome if we had lost. We don’t have to worry about that now.”

They don’t have to worry thanks to Robitaille, who scored his second goal of the night and team-high sixth of the playoffs to seal the victory. Robitaille put the puck past Lamb, who had fallen to his knees in an attempt to block the shot.

“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hit him,” an elated Robitaille said.

The goal was set up when Oiler defenseman Steve Smith caught his stick in the glass partition, breaking it. That gave the Kings an advantage they used to beat the team that had swept them in the second round a year ago.

“I didn’t see it,” Ranford said of the deciding shot. “I lost sight of it. Mark tried to make a great play. He went down to block it. That’s when I lost sight of it.”

Coach John Muckler’s decision to start Ranford was a mild surprise. Grant Fuhr had started every game of the Oilers’ opening-round playoff series against the Calgary Flames, a series that went seven games.

Ranford, the MVP of last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs, hadn’t started since the next-to-last regular season game on March 29.

He didn’t find out he was starting Thursday until the pregame skate.

Robitaille had tied the game in the third period after the Kings turned a 2-0 lead into a 3-2 deficit.

Steve Kasper single-handedly accounted for the only goal of the first period. Digging the puck out of the corner, he turned to skate toward the net only to come face to face with Oiler defenseman Smith.

Kasper made a move that left Smith frozen, but as he went past the Oiler defenseman, Smith managed to upend Kasper.

But not stop him.

As Kasper hit the ice, he was able to shove the puck through the legs of Ranford 5:17 into the game for his third goal of the playoffs.

Later in the period, the Oilers got an excellent opportunity to even the score when Larry Robinson was given a major penalty for cross-checking Martin Gelinas along with the automatic game misconduct and ejection mandated for a major stick foul.

With Mike Donnelly already in the penalty box for interference, the Oilers had a two-man advantage for 17 seconds and then the remaining 4:43 of the major penalty.

No matter.

The Oilers took seven shots on the extended power play and missed them all.

The Kings moved out to a 2-0 lead off a power play faceoff. John Tonelli won it from Mark Messier, then lost control of the puck. But he managed to kick it over to Tomas Sandstrom, who charged in from the right side and smacked the puck between Ranford’s legs at 7:08 of the second period for his third postseason goal.

The Oilers cut the margin in half at the 11:30 mark.

King defenseman Bob Halkidis lost the puck to Gelinas. Halkidis then compounded his error twofold. He allowed Gelinas’ shot to go off his skate past King goalie Kelly Hrudey. And he killed any chance Hrudey might have had to stop it by inadvertently screening the goalie.

Only 20 seconds into the third period, the Oilers tied the game. Hrudey blocked Glenn Anderson’s shot, but then lost sight of the puck as it landed in front of him.

Messier had no trouble seeing it. Or ramming it through Hrudey’s pads for his third postseason goal to tie the game, 2-2.

The Oilers took their first lead 5:34 into the third period. Petr Klima’s breakaway shot hit the left post, but Craig Simpson got him the puck back. Klima then skated past both Marty McSorley and Steve Duchesne to score his second goal of the playoffs.

On a power play, Robitaille tied the game at 3-3, redirecting Duchesne’s shot through Ranford’s pads at 12:07. It was Robitaille’s fifth postseason goal.

King Notes

King center Steve Kasper suffered a concussion in the third period and did not return. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained overnight for observation. . . . Edmonton defenseman Kevin Lowe sat out with tendinitis of the ankle. . . . The Kings hadn’t won a second-round game since April 16, 1982, when they beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2, in overtime. That was the only game the Kings won in that series. . . . The last time the Kings had won on home ice in the second round was April 17, 1977, when they beat the Boston Bruins, 7-4, in a series the Kings lost in six games. . . . Opting for a faster lineup in the final games against the Vancouver Canucks, King Coach Tom Webster replaced Jay Miller in the lineup with speedy Brad Jones. Miller was back in for Jones Thursday night.