Robitaille’s Bottom Line Is to Skate With the Best

The Kings have the highest-scoring left wing in NHL history on their team. Question is, what do they do with him?

Luc Robitaille is in his third tour with the Kings after signing a one-year contract. He has 631 goals and he finally won the Stanley Cup two years ago with the Detroit Red Wings.

He is also 37 and coming off a career-low 11-goal season with Detroit. He was benched for a game for the first time.

Nearly a week into training camp, Robitaille has been playing with center Derek Armstrong and right wing Mike Cammalleri. He has also been getting time on the power play.

It’s a little early to tell where Robitaille will fit in.

“For me to be able to be successful, I need to play on the top two lines,” Robitaille said. “Our top two centers [Jason Allison and Jozef Stumpel] are some of the best guys at hanging onto the puck and moving the puck. That’s something that a guy like me needs.

“Obviously it’s up to [Coach] Andy [Murray]. I know what I can do. Everybody knows what I can do. It’s up to me to be ready.”

Robitaille reported to camp almost 10 pounds lighter and several steps quicker after training with former U.S. track sprinter Sherryl Howard during the off-season. Howard, a 1984 Olympic gold-medal winner on the 1,600-meter relay team, worked with Robitaille on improving his initial burst.

“Last year it was pretty clear-cut who was going to play where,” Murray said. “This year there’s going to be a little more traffic. I think we’ll let the players make those decisions for us. We’re probably not going to know until the night before we play Detroit [Oct. 9].

-- Mike Bresnahan

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It would be hard to find a player in the Mighty Ducks’ camp who has a more difficult chore than defenseman Mark Popovic.

Popovic, a second-round draft pick in 2001 who spent last season with Cincinnati, might be ready to make the jump to the NHL. He is an agile skater who has good puck-handling skills and rarely seems out of position.

His problem is that the Ducks seem to have no room on defense.

The six defensemen who guided the Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals return: Keith Carney, Sandis Ozolinsh, Ruslan Salei, Kurt Sauer, Vitaly Vishnevski and Niclas Havelid. Add to that Lance Ward, a forward last season who has been returned to his natural position as a defenseman.

Cracking that lineup will take an exceptional camp.

“I don’t worry about that,” said Popovic, who will turn 21 Oct. 11. “I just made sure I was prepared for camp.”

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Thursday’s minor league game between the Ducks and Kings has been moved to 3:30 p.m. at Staples Center. Fans with tickets to that evening’s Duck-King game can attend.

-- Chris Foster