ROBITAILLE FLASHES OLD FORM EARLY GOAL LEADS KINGS TO NINTH WIN IN LAST 11 GAMES KINGS 4, PHOENIX 0.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Luc Robitaille has just about faced it all this season. The disappointment and frustration of missing nine games with a leg injury and four others because coach Andy Murray made him a healthy scratch.

This should have been Robitaille's glorious last go-around, a celebratory season in which he easily became the leading goal scorer in Kings history, but things haven't quite followed that script.

Some have questioned how much Robitaille, who turns 40 next month, has left, but on Thursday night he showed he's still very much a threat when the puck is on his stick.

Robitaille scored his first goal since Nov. 26 as the Kings took a three-goal lead over Phoenix after one period and went on to defeat the Coyotes 4-0 before 18,118 at Staples Center.

The goal moved Robitaille to within two of tying Marcel Dionne's franchise record of 550 career goals and sparks hope that perhaps it's not too late for Robitaille to turn things around this season.

It also provided an impressive highlight for the Kings, who seemed on their way to their ninth victory in their last 11 games. The Kings had played four of their previous five games against Pacific Division opponents and had earned nine points out of a possible 10 in those games.

Thursday's effort was another impressive one for the Kings.

Goaltender Mathieu Garon stood up to some early pressure, made 12 first-period saves and easily outlasted Phoenix counterpart Brian Boucher, who was replaced at the start of the second period.

Boucher's night was short because the Kings turned in an impressive first period that included plenty of hard work in the corners and a handful of skillful plays that led to goals.

After a fairly even start, the Kings broke through with 8:14 left in the period. On a delayed penalty, defenseman Mattias Norstrom fed a cross-ice pass to Craig Conroy, who ripped a slap shot from the middle of the right faceoff circle and beat Boucher to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

Even better for the Kings, the delayed penalty was a double minor for high sticking, so Denis Gauthier still had to serve two minutes, and the Kings didn't waste their opportunity.

Just 50 seconds after Conroy's goal, Joe Corvo controlled the puck just inside the blue line and, with Conroy providing a screen in front, Corvo's slap shot beat Boucher to put the Kings up 2-0.

Robitaille's moment came with 1:52 remaining the period. Michael Cammalleri skated into the faceoff circle and left a drop pass for Robitaille, who ripped one of his trademark slap shots into the net.

It was Robitaille's sixth goal of the season, first in 14 games and just his second goal since Oct. 25.

After his well-publicized three-game benching last month, Robitaille's play has seemed to improve a bit of late, something that Robitaille's toughest critic acknowledged before the game.

``I think Luc evaluates his game as (being) a scorer,'' Murray said. ``I evaluate him on a little more than that, but we need Luc to score goals, no question.''

Robitaille had several other scoring chances, but Garon didn't need any more support.

Garon stood up to moderate challenges in the first period, but did bigger work in the second, when the Kings had to kill three penalties but faced only six Phoenix shots.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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Luc Robitaille (20) scores his first goal since Nov. 26 to give the Kings an early lead Thursday.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News