Down 3-0 to the Red Wings at the start of the second period, the Kings magically rallied to tie the score. With 2:21 left to play, the Kings’ Michal Handzus suddenly knocked in his second goal of the game to help the team win their ninth straight — a franchise record.
From ESPN.com:
Alexander Frolov, Handzus and Ryan Smyth scored in the second period, and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves in his NHL-leading 34th victory. The Kings surpassed the Second Six franchise’s eight-game winning streaks established by Wayne Gretzky’s 1991-92 team and the 1972-73 squad.
Los Angeles needed just two shootout victories to establish this mark with a roster that’s only now discovering what it can do. After a midseason swoon that dropped them from first place in the Western Conference to the middle of the pack, the Kings have moved back up to third with their 11th victory in 12 games.
“We have a lot of confidence right now, and we know that if we stick to our game, most nights we will be successful,” said Handzus, who also had an assist to give him six points in the last two games. “We knew we didn’t play well in the first period. … We decided not to try and hit a home run. We just wanted to try and score the first goal and go from there. It’s great, and a great comeback for us.”
I was at this game and it was one of the most exciting turnarounds I’ve ever seen. The Staples Center was absolutely lifeless for the first period, stunned by the Red Wings’ instantaneous three goals. Truth be told, since the Kings were coming off a hard-fought victory against the Ducks just last night, I expected them to lose. The team just looked drained, so I resigned myself to leaving after the second period if they hadn’t scored. To everyone’s surprise, they beat the talented Red Wings, simply by turning up the intensity.
