Belanger Masters This Trick

It was rookie night for the Kings on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, but it was a group of veterans who stole the show at Staples Center.

In a 6-2 victory in front of 15,662, Eric Belanger scored three goals for his first NHL hat trick, Bryan Smolinski, Jaroslav Modry and Ziggy Palffy each scored one and Felix Potvin stopped 34 shots as the Kings won for the fourth time in five games.

Jason Allison had three assists, Modry and Ian Laperriere two each.

“If you call me a veteran, I’ll take it,” said Belanger, a third-year pro who last enjoyed a multi-goal game Jan. 5. “We had to get some shots tonight, and we did. This was a big win for our team.

“It was just an effort from everybody. We have to pull in the same direction. Tonight it was me; maybe the next game it will be somebody else.”

Because of injuries and illness, the King lineup included four rookies: defenseman Joe Corvo, 25, and 20-year-old forwards Michael Cammalleri, Alexander Frolov and Jared Aulin, the last making his NHL debut.

“We hoped they would all play here during the season,” Coach Andy Murray said before the game. “We wanted to see them play here, but the fact that they’re all here now....

“Our team doesn’t resemble much of what we had here last year.”

Last month, the Kings lost at St. Louis in overtime, 3-2, after hitting the wall in the third period of the last game of an eight-game, 17-day trip. The Blues that night outshot the Kings, 23-3, in the third period.

“I thought they abused us in the third period,” Murray said. “Our goaltending [by Potvin] was outstanding, but they took advantage of the fact that our wheels had just about fallen off. They’re also a good team.”

The Blues have experienced their own share of injuries -- recently returned Brent Johnson, torched Tuesday by the Kings, is the sixth goaltender they’ve utilized -- but a 9-1-1 start put them in the thick of the Central Division race.

They’re 7-8-3-2 since, however, and they fell behind the Kings in the 16th minute, Modry scoring the first of three power-play goals by the Kings on a shot from the high slot with Christian Laflamme in the penalty box for cross-checking Eric Rasmussen. His ninth goal tied Modry for the NHL lead among defensemen.

About two minutes later, with Brad Chartrand in the penalty box for holding Martin Rucinsky, Keith Tkachuk tied the score with a power-play goal, redirecting a blast from the right faceoff circle by defenseman Al MacInnis.

Belanger’s first goal gave the Kings the lead for good 32 seconds into the second period, and Smolinski made the score 3-1 at 6:11.

Belanger, who scored his third goal into an empty net, scored his first on a brilliant bit of marksmanship. From the bottom of the right circle, he found a tiny opening in the upper right corner of the goal mouth and flipped the puck off Johnson’s right shoulder and across the goaltender’s back into the net.

At 17:58 of the second period, Belanger scored again, this time on a rebound of a shot by Allison. His eighth goal matched his total from last season.

He scored his ninth on a 150-foot shot with 2:30 to play.

“I’m a player who is taking a lot of weight upon himself,” Belanger said, “and I want to play hard every night. When things are not going good, you have to look in the mirror and say, ‘Can I play better? Can I play harder?’ ”