Lucky Turn of Events

First it was Glen Murray in Pittsburgh and then Jozef Stumpel and Sandy Moger in Boston. Tonight, it’s Luc Robitaille’s turn.

Like his new teammates before him, Robitaille will get a chance to play against his team from a year ago in an early-season road game when the Kings play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Robitaille, who spent two lackluster seasons with the Rangers, was traded from New York for Kevin Stevens before the start of training camp. In New York, he was regarded as a disappointment but so far with the Kings, Robitaille has played up to the team’s expectations.

“With Lucky, we knew what we were getting. There’s been no change there,” Coach Larry Robinson said of Robitaille, who has a goal in each of the first two games. “He’s matured. He sees his role differently now. When he played [with the Kings] before he was one of the younger ones. Now he is an elder statesman.

“With [Stevens], we never knew. We were always hoping [he would produce points]. It’s not a knock on Kevin because he was a hard worker who always gave us effort.”

Stevens did not score a goal in his first game with Rangers, a 2-2 tie against the New York Islanders on Friday, but he was impressive in adding toughness to the Rangers’ front line.

TONIGHT

Kings vs.

N.Y. Rangers

* 4 p.m. PDT

* Fox Sports West

Site--Madison Square Garden, New York.

Radio--XTRA (690).

Records--Kings 0-1-1, Rangers 0-0-1.

Record vs. Rangers (1996-97 season)--0-2.

Update--Robinson was disappointed with several mental mistakes the Kings made in a 6-5 loss at Boston on Thursday night. For example, the Kings gave up two goals because of a lack of communication on shift changes. Left wing Craig Johnson, who had two assists at Boston, has been the most consistent two-way forward. Goaltender Stephane Fiset struggled against the Bruins and will need a strong game to stay out of Robinson’s doghouse. New York’s Pat LaFontaine, acquired in a recent trade with Buffalo after a seven-month bout with post-concussion syndrome, scored a game-tying goal midway through the third period to give the Rangers a 2-2 tie against the Islanders in their opener Friday night.