Kings End Trip by Beating Sabres : Hockey: Robitaille and Gretzky combine to lead the team over Buffalo, 4-2, and back into third place.

Luc Robitaille scored his 50th goal and 100th point of the season Monday night to lead the Kings to a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

With the victory, the Kings moved into third place in the Smythe Division, one point ahead of Winnipeg. The Kings have played 69 games, while the Jets have played 70.

The loss ended the Sabres’ three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1). It kept Buffalo six points behind Boston in the race for third in the Adams Division.

Wayne Gretzky had a goal and two assists for the Kings, while Mike Donnelly and Rob Blake also scored for the Kings. Yuri Khmylev and Randy Moller had goals for the Sabres.

The game originally was scheduled to be played Sunday afternoon, but the weekend blizzard that struck the East Coast prevented the two clubs from traveling to Buffalo Saturday night.

The Kings flew out of Buffalo Monday night to get back to the Forum for tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Though outplayed in the opening period, the Kings led after 20 minutes. Jari Kurri couldn’t score on two shots from the slot, but Donnelly scored on the rebound at 6:42.

The Kings dominated the second period and Robitaille scored his 50th goal. Robitaille then collected his 100th point with an assist on Blake’s goal.

It’s the third time in Robitaille’s career that he has reached the 50-goal mark. The left winger hit 100 points for the fourth time.

Buffalo narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the third period on Moller’s first goal of the season. But the Sabres failed to knot the score, even with a power play in the game’s final 1:15.