Game 58: Kings 4, Red Wings 3

When Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's goal record in 1994, I bought a t-shirt to commemorate the event. When Luc Robitaille broke Marcel Dionne's club scoring record in 2006, I bought a t-shirt to commemorate the event.

I doubt they'll sell a t-shirt to commemorate a winning streak. But if they did, I'd be tempted to buy one. Because the game itself was one for the ages.

After a good friend (thanks, Glenn) offered me his tickets for the game, I made the wet trek to Staples to watch the Kings try to continue winning. The Red Wing Contingent was strong as always, with Yzerman jerseys, Zetterberg t-shirts and Stanley Cup hats seemingly the uniform of choice.

For the past eight games, the Kings have won in a variety of ways: two were never in question (Columbus and Toronto), four wins came in the third period (Detroit, New Jersey, New York and Anaheim), and two came way of shootouts (Buffalo and Boston).

But never had the Kings been down as many as three goals, as they found themselves Saturday. Staples was rocking, but mostly by Detroit fans, who were hooting and hollering like they just clinched a playoff berth.

Which is funny, because the Wings have been struggling all season, running the risk of missing the playoffs for the first time in 19 seasons. Injuries have been the biggest factor of Detroit's swoon, and it was hoped the two days off they had prior to Saturday's contest would allow them to lick their wounds and get healthy. Well it worked, albiet for one period.

The Red Wings got two goals from Henrik Zetterberg and another from Valtteri Filppula to give Detroit a seemingly insurmountable lead. Kings fans were grumbling during the first intermission, bemoaning the team's lackluster showing in the first. The grumbling continued as the teams played for nine minutes non-stop to start off the second period.

The grumbling stopped at 9:16 in the second, when Alexander Frolov scored to put the Kings on the board. Then the mood changed from "Aww, man..." to "Oh man!" The Kings had been in this position before, and fans knew more goals were coming.

Michal Handzus scored an unassisted goal when Jimmy Howard bumbled the puck, allowing the Slovakian Scrapper to pop it past the rookie goalie to make it 3-2. Wings fans were conspicuously quiet, as Kings fans started giving them grief.

Then Ryan Smyth accidentially intercepted a Wayne Simmonds pass to a wide-open Jarret Stoll, only to backhand it through traffic and into the back of the net to tie the game. Staples was ecstatic, as it was anyone's game heading into the third, and the Kings hadd all the momentum.

Detroit did their best to try and shift it back, but Handzus comes through once again. When Howard can't control a Frolov rebound, the wily veteran slid across the crease and scored to put the Kings up with less than three minutes to go. I decided to head downstairs and beat the crowd, since I had to jet out to West Covina for work.

But with 30 seconds left in the period, I found myself drawn back into the arena to experience something that I haven't heard since 2001: the roar. The sheer excitement of 18,000+ fans going nuts (minus the 3,000 or so Wings fans) washed over me as I cracked a smile.

I doubt you could make a t-shirt to capture that feeling. I'm just glad I was there. Now it's on to Anaheim, where I'll be invading The Ponda with a hundred of so rabid Kings fans for the Kings/Ducks game Monday.

• AP: Kings beat Red Wings for 9th straight victory

“That’s just how they play,” Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. “They play hard and they don’t give up. They play the full 60 minutes. It’s tough. I take a lot of the blame for it. I didn’t think I had my best outing today, and I was very disappointed with the way I played.”

• LA Times: Kings rally for record win

"We have a lot of confidence right now. And we know that if we stick to our game, most times we're going to be successful," said forward Michal Handzus, who scored the game-winner with 2 minutes 21 seconds left in the final period.

• LA Kings: Kings Win Franchise Record Ninth Straight

The last time the Kings and Red Wings met, Detroit scored two first period goals and LA rallied for three unanswered goals in a 3-2 win on Jan. 23. So this time around, Detroit scored three goals in the first period...and the Kings did it again.

• LA Kings Insider: Post game notes

Michal Handzus, with two goals and one assist, had his second consecutive three-point game. Handzus has eight points in his last five games (four goals, four assists). Handzus also scored his team-high sixth game-winning goal (the Kings’ single-season record is nine).

• NHL.com:  Handzus' late goal gives Kings ninth-straight win

“That’s the desperation, the perseverance that you have to continually show,” said Kings coach Terry Murray. “That’s a good hockey club, Detroit. You have to earn the right to beat (them). We did the right stuff in the second and third period.”

They said it

"We have not had one or two guys win the games for us. Obviously Quicker [Jonathan Quick] has been really strong in the net for us. When you can get scoring from every line, like we have, it is difficult to play against. When you shut down Kopi [Anze Kopitar] or Zeus [Michal Handzus], Stolly [Jarret Stoll] will get a goal, and when you have that going it is hard to play against." - Dustin Brown, on the game

"Parsey [Scott Parse] and Frolov did a great job. They stayed on the puck and they battled, and they won the battles. They had two shots on one play and I got the rebound, and it was pretty much an empty net, but the credit goes to those two guys.” - Michal Handzus, on the game

 “Had to make some changes on the line combinations going into the second period, and I thought Parse stepped up to the Handzus line and made a big play on the goal that we scored early in the second period. Guys just stepped in. They’ve shown to be able to do that throughout the course of the year, and there was a need for it today. - Terry Murray, on the second period changes

Around the Kingdom

• Mayor' Manor: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

(Ed. note: The Mayor does it again, this time recounting his in-game interaction with Red Wings backup goaltender Chris Osgood. Good read.)
The Red Wings were just about to fall out of my top tier of teams to get hyped about. Let's face it, they're on the way down and probably wont be winning their division again anytime soon due to the rise of the Blackhawks. Yet, here was Osgood - without knowing it - giving me a pseudo subliminal reminder of one of the reasons I respect them so much. Some of their guys get it.

• LAKingsNews.com: Nine is sublime

When is a hockey game not just another hockey game? When that game sees the Kings kick a curse in the nuts, break a franchise record, and make Staples center as loud as I’ve heard it in far too long a time.

• HockeyBuzz's Matthew Barry: Wings Blow 3-0 Lead, Kings Streak At Nine With 4-3 Win

Coach Terry Murray thought about making a change after the first period but decided against it. “I came very close.” Murray began. “The only goal I wish he had back was the second goal. The other goals he had no chance. But even after addressing the team (between periods), I was going to go back in and make the change (to Ersberg), but that was my rationale for not doing it.”

• Inside Hockey: Kings set club record

With a few minutes left, the Frolov-Handzus-Parse line again came up big.  Alex Frolov held the puck, holding off a winger with a hand on the stick in fact, and getting away with it.  He threw it to Parse, and he to the net.  Handzus then got the rebound and carried it across the crease for his fifteenth of the year and the game winner.  His night was two goals, one assist counting this game-winner.

• Jewels From the Crown: 9 in a row: Kings 4, Wings 3

Every game, every win changes the Kings standings in the Western Conference. With the Phoenix Coyotes loss to the Dallas Stars tonight, the Kings hop ahead of the Yotes to grab the fourth spot with 75 points.

• A Life Less Ordinary: Kings vs. Wings: Signs

Congrats to the Kings on their 9TH straight win - THE LONGEST IN FRANCHISE HISTORY! GO KINGS GO!

Across the aisle, the Detroit viewpoint

• Detroit News: Kings 4, Wings 3: Detroit blows three-goal lead

"This is a tough one," said Howard. "I take a lot of the blame for this one. I didn't think I had my best outing. I am very disappointed in how I played." 

•  Detroit Free Press: Tomas Holmstrom, Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves injured in loss to Kings

“It hurts even more when you’re up 3-0 on the road,” Nicklas Lidstrom said. “I thought we had a real strong first period, we came out with a good push, and we got rewarded by scoring some goals. But then in the second we didn’t play well enough in front of our own net. They were getting a lot of pucks in there and crashing the net, and we didn’t do a good enough job go take out the players there or clear the rebounds.”

• Winging It In Motown: Disaster In LA: Wings Lose Three-Goal Lead, Game, And Three Players

At the end of the first period, the Detroit Red Wings had a 3-0 lead, having played one of the best periods of hockey they'd play all year featuring a pair of goals by Henrik Zetterberg. It may well have been the last happy moment for a while.

• The Production Line: Instant React: Anyone know the number of a good TV repair guy?

How money did the Kings look on that Bertuzzi penalty (add bad Bertuzzi penalty comment as needed)? Kopitar had 3-4 great looks, rang one off the post (fear not, we paid that back later in the game) and had me tapping my foot like a 19 year old kid waiting for his girlfriend to get the results of the pregnancy test back

• Snipe, Snipe Dangle, Dangle: Red Wings 3, Kings 4: Post Game Snipes...

$#@#$%^!!! I hate this team. I hate this season. I hate hockey. I’m never watching ever again. Ever. God I can’t wait to see Franzen play on Tuesday.

• Lets Go Kings: what they're saying: 9-in-a-row!!!!!! edition

(Ed. note: Ever wonder what the other side says on their message boards?)

Peeping the dailies