[0] LIGHTNING STEALS ROBITAILLE'S THUNDER FORWARD'S 500TH GOAL WITH KINGS NOT ENOUGH IN LOSS TAMPA BAY 4, KINGS 3.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Just a week after sweeping through Canada and looking like a playoff team, the Kings learned Saturday night that trouble never is too far away.

Even before losing Ziggy Palffy, the league's leading scorer, with a hamstring injury in the first period, the Kings didn't show up for their 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The usually supportive crowd of 15,576 at Staples Center was in a booing mood all night and with good reason. Tampa Bay, which came in with just one victory in its previous nine games, took it to the Kings.

``I don't know if we respected them enough,'' Ian Laperriere said. ``I'm not sure we just didn't think we'd come in and win this game. We should know better than that.''

Especially since the lowly Lightning is 6-1-1 lifetime in Los Angeles.

The only bright spots all night were two late goals by Luc Robitaille, both coming after the Kings pulled their goaltender. The first was at the 16:19 mark of the third and was his 500th as a King. The second, scored with 32 seconds left, was Robitaille's 18th of the year and 570th of his career.

``It was just a bad, bad game,'' said Robitaille, taking no joy in the milestone. ``You are going to have some bad ones in an 82-game schedule, but you never expect this to be the game.''

Maybe they should have.

The Kings already were playing without center Jozef Stumpel, who broke a toe in Thursday's 5-5 tie against the New York Rangers and told the club he was not ready to go.

Then after allowing a goal just 4:40 into the game, the Kings lost Palffy, who entered the game with 21 goals and 46 points. That left the Kings playing without two thirds of their top unit. Suddenly, the Lightning, with two goals by Fredrik Modin, didn't look like lightweights.

Even during their slump, Tampa Bay (10-15-3) had a shutout over Detroit and a tie against Colorado.

But in last weekend's victories in Edmonton and Vancouver, the Kings dominated on defense and looked like one of the better teams in the loaded Western Conference. The Canucks are the league's highest-scoring team and were limited to just 21 shots on Stephane Fiset.

Even with Stumpel and Palffy, the Kings (15-10-7), have been an up- and-down club. After going unbeaten in eight consecutive games to start November, the Kings won just once in their next six games.

Jamie Storr, who was so impressive during the unbeaten streak, began to wear down at the end of 17 straight starts. The Kings gladly welcomed back Fiset after he missed 10 weeks with a torn MCL in his left knee.

But after going 3-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average in his first three starts, Fiset has stumbled.

Against the Lightning, Fiset was pulled with 13:55 left in the second period after allowing a goal by rookie Brad Richards that made it 3-1. Fiset now has given up eight goals in just over four periods.

``I let the team down,'' he said. ``I am supposed to keep us in the game and I took us out of the game. I am not here to criticize anyone else. This one was my fault.''

With five minutes left in the game, coach Andy Murray pulled Storr and went with an extra attacker.

``I wanted them to know I wasn't going to give up,'' Murray said. ``We didn't have Stumpy and Ziggy, but that shouldn't matter. I wanted them to feel the same way.''

Robitaille made it 4-3 in the final minute, but the Kings didn't have time to tie a game they deserved to lose.

``I think we will learn from this,'' Laperriere said. ``You definitely don't want to forget.''

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Photo: (color) The Kings' Stu Grimson, left, struggles with Tampa Bay's Kaspars Astashenko during the Lightning's 4-3 victory Saturday.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press