Robitaille Scores 500th Goal

By JIM HODGES

Jan. 8, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Pavel Rosa grew up idolizing Luc Robitaille, then spent Thursday night helping him into history.

Robitaille took Rosa’s pass and chipped the puck over prone Buffalo goalie Dwayne Roloson to become the 27th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals.

The shot punctuated the Kings’ 4-2 victory, their fifth in a row and seventh in their last eight games, and it provoked confusion on Rosa’s part and celebration on the part of the announced 10,821 who were at the Great Western Forum.

“My first goal in the NHL, or this, I don’t know,” Rosa said of the high point of his still young career. “I know I idolized him when I was growing up, and then I passed the puck to him for his 500th goal.”

That idolatry manifested itself in a picture on Rosa’s wall when he was a 12-year-old, living in the Czech Republic.

Robitaille’s goal was his second of the night, coming on his last shift, with only 1:46 remaining in the game. No. 499 came quickly enough, a power-play goal at 2:48 of the opening period.

He knew that No. 500 might come before he went home for the evening.

“I knew I was on,” Robitaille said. “Some nights were like that, and I know that tonight I was just on. I felt good.”

And on target to become the 12th-fastest player in history to reach 500 goals.

There was, he said, no pressure. But there was awareness.

“I knew I would reach 500 sometime,” Robitaille said. “It’s been fun. I know that lately I’ve been a little busier, but I think maybe the team has gotten more attention too.”

Part of that has been their recent success. And part of that has been with goalie Jamie Storr, who withstood a second-period onslaught in which the Kings were outshot, 13-4.

Several of those shots--including those from Miroslav Satan and Wayne Primeau--were from point-blank range and Storr gave up only Michael Peca’s power-play goal.

It could have been so much worse in a game the Kings led from 2:48 of the first period, when Robitaille scored his 499th goal for a 1-0 lead, to the end. That goal came when he beat former King Alexei Zhitnik to take a pass from Rob Blake.

The goal heightened expectations of Robitaille’s 500th, and was the third game in a row in which he has scored, the fourth game in his last five.

Later in the period, Robitaille drew an assist on Pavel Rosa’s goal.

It generated a 2-0 King lead at 18:23, countered only 11 seconds later by Vaclav Varada’s goal, which came when Storr was caught sleepwalking behind the King goal.

But Sandy Moger’s goal gave Storr a 3-1 lead to work with, and he needed all of the margin with his second-period straits.

The winning goal was credited to Moger at 5:52 of the second period when he redirected a pass from Ian Laperriere past Roloson, on for Dominik Hasek, who had started 34 of Buffalo’s 35 games.

The goal put Robitaille with Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne and Jari Kurri, players who scored their 500th goal with the Kings.

It’s rare company for a player who couldn’t skate well enough to play in the NHL.

“Whoever didn’t believe in me, well. . . . them today.” said Robitaille, laughing and holding a puck that he said the Hall of Fame would have to come after to get.

“I’ve got kids,” he said.

And they’ve got a father in the history books.

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The 500 Club

NHL players with 500 or more goals:

1. x-Wayne Gretzky, Edm-LA-StL-NYR: 891

2. Gordie Howe, Det-Har: 801

3. Marcel Dionne, Det-LA-NYR: 731

4. Phil Esposito, Chi-Bos-NYR: 717

5. Mike Gartner, Was-Min-NYR-Tor-Pho: 708

6. Mario Lemieux, Pit: 613

7. Bobby Hull, Chi-Win-Har: 610