Robitaille Gets 600th

Luc Robitaille, standing in front of the net waiting for the moment, lifted his stick waist high, a reflex action after 15 seasons in the NHL.

A blink later, the puck was redirected into the net. Goal No. 600.

That first-period goal got the Detroit Red Wings started toward a 1-0 victory over the Mighty Ducks on Friday and was another step in the journey to the Hall of Fame for Robitaille.

For the Ducks, it might not have been a step backward. Their effort was good, but was the fourth time they failed to get their record back to .500 this season.

A large number of Red Wing fans gave the Ducks an announced crowd of 17,174 in the Arrowhead Pond, their first sellout of the season. And the fans got what they paid for, spectacular Red Wing performances.

Goalie Dominik Hasek was brilliant, making 19 saves in getting his 57th career shutout.

In the third period, Hasek stopped a blistering Paul Kariya slap shot, but left a tasty rebound for Patric Kjellberg. But Hasek flung his body to the right and deflected Kjellberg’s shot.

“I looked up and saw him throw his body over,” Kjellberg said. “I kept waiting for him to land, but he didn’t.”

The Red Wings were efficient and tough.

They killed two third-period penalties without allowing a shot on goal.

But the night belong to Robitaille, who became the 13th player to reach 600 goals.

Robitaille redirected a Shanahan wrist shot to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead 8 minutes 53 seconds into the first period.

“When he took the wrister, I just made sure I was in position,” Robitaille said. “I’ve had many in my career like that, so I guess it’s all about positioning.”

The goal made two people extremely happy, Robitaille and Kings’ General Manager Dave Taylor.

Robitaille was glad because he had his 600th career goal.

And, somewhere, Taylor must have been smiling because Robitaille won’t score his 600th tonight against the Kings, who offered him a $1-million pay cut after he scored 36 goals for the Kings last season.

“I’m sure [King President] Tim [Leiweke] is happy I didn’t get it [against the Kings],” Robitaille said.

The Red Wings, if healthy, certainly will be considered favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Detroit this season is waiting room for those headed for the hockey hall of fame. There are five active players with 600 or more goals. The Red Wings have three--Robitaille, Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman.

A formidable team to face. Still the Ducks played them to a draw

“I thought we paid them too much respect in the first period,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “We let them do what they wanted to do.”

The Ducks were outshot, 13-3, in the first period. All three shots came from their checking line, Kjellberg, Samuel Pahlsson and Sergei Krivokrasov. The Ducks had only seven shots through the first 30 minutes.

The few times the Ducks tested Hasek, he lived up to his reputation.

With the Ducks on the power play, Tverdovsky fired a shot from the blue line that was redirected twice, first by Mike Leclerc, then by Marty McInnis. Hasek changed directions twice and managed the bat the puck away.

A moment later, Rucchin picked up a loose puck got off a clean shot in the slot. Hasek made a pad save and then caught a break when the play was whistled dead even though the puck was lying in the crease.