Capitals Reduced by Kings : Hockey: Robitaille has two goals for L.A., giving him 10 in seven games, during 6-3 victory over Washington.

King Coach Tom Webster figured he was finally safe.

He should have known better.

Late in Saturday night’s game against the Washington Capitals with his club comfortably ahead on its way to a 6-3 victory, Webster, standing behind the bench, was accidentally cracked on the head by John McIntyre.

Larry Robinson took off his helmet and placed it on Webster’s head, causing the King coach to break into a smile.

Why not? Things could be a lot worse.

A week ago, they were. The Kings were in danger of missing the playoffs, Webster was in danger of getting fired and he was in pain after getting accidentally speared in the ribs by McIntyre.

“He’s a hazard,” Webster said of his fourth-line center. “But things like that, you have to laugh.”

His club turned itself around with a 2-1-1 trip and maintained that momentum Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 16,005.

In the Capitals, the Kings were facing a club that was 33-19-5, including 3-0-1 in its previous four.

But behind a strong, balanced offensive attack, the goaltending of Kelly Hrudey and a relentless penalty-killing unit, the Kings improved to 23-22-13.

The Kings stopped Washington on seven power plays. In their previous game, the Kings had stopped seven power-play attempts by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The biggest change in the Kings in the last week is a resurgence of confidence.

“There’s really a sense that they feel good about themselves,” King owner Bruce McNall said. “That has made a total difference.”

Leading the way again offensively at the start was Luc Robitaille, who has scored 10 goals in seven games. Robitaille had two Saturday night to give him a club-high 33, including six in his last two home games. Robitaille has six power-play goals in the last seven games and 19 for the season.

The other King goals Saturday were scored by Mike Donnelly (23rd and 24th), Corey Millen (11th) and Tony Granato (28th). Wayne Gretzky added three assists.

Hrudey, appearing in his 17th consecutive game, 16 of those starts, got off to shaky start. Dimitri Khristich scored his 25th goal 1:19 into the game.

But there was an extenuating circumstance.

Mike Ridley, attempting a pass from the left corner, bounced the puck off King defenseman Peter Ahola’s skate. Although the puck bounced toward the Kings’ net, Hrudey was able to adjust and stop it. But the puck came to a halt by his right foot, leaving an inviting target for Khristich to smash through his pads.

After that, Hrudey was nearly impenetrable while the game was still close, shutting down the NHL’s most prolific scorers. The Capitals have 246 goals.

“He’s been unbelievable,” McNall said of Hrudey. “I think the turning point was when Kelly started to play every game. He’s such a fighter. And that has spread to the other guys.”

One particular sequence at the end of a power play showed the kind of night Hrudey was having. He blocked a shot from the right side, but the puck slid over to the left side.

So did Hrudey. He slid across the crease in time to stop a sure goal by Dino Ciccarelli.

Peter Bondra finally broke through for his 21st goal late in the third period after the Kings had taken a 5-1 lead.

The final Washington goal was scored by Todd Krygier, his 11th.

King Notes

Center Robert Lang, drafted by the Kings during the seventh round in 1990, has become a star for Czechoslovakia in the Winter Olympics. In four games, Lang has two goals and six assists. King General Manager Rogie Vachon is hoping to sign Lang when the Games are over and perhaps get him in a King uniform before the end of the season.

King announcer Bob Miller will be inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame March 7 in Madison. Miller was the first to broadcast University of Wisconsin hockey, doing so for five seasons beginning in the late 1960s. He also broadcast the school’s football and basketball games. Because Miller will be with the Kings on the day of induction, his wife, Judy, will represent him at the ceremonies.