Kings ride another explosive third period for comeback win

Maybe the Los Angeles Kings are taking the old line “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” a little too seriously.

On Monday night, the Kings managed just six shots on goal (one successful) in the first two periods before exploding for four goals in the third to bury the Nashville Predators 5-1. Despite back-to-back games, the Kings saw an even more dramatic turnaround on Tuesday, flipping a 4-1 St. Louis Blues lead* early in the second to a 6-4 win. Four of those last five goals came in the final frame.

In a way, those games have been a microcosm of the squad’s 2013 season (or really the last two campaigns).

Since starting 3-5-2 with some rather ugly games, the Kings have won nine of 11 games starting on Feb. 11. In hindsight, one might call the bumpy beginning of 2013 a Cliff Notes version of their 2011-12 struggles.

Perhaps it only makes sense that last season’s late trade bounty Jeff Carter has factored heavily into this rejuvenation, then. While he didn’t match Monday’s natural hat trick, Carter was one of the goal-scorers, maintaining momentum that parallels his team’s torrid run.

That leaves Los Angeles at fourth place in the West with 26 points (but one more win than division rival San Jose). If this cold-hot trend continues with another Cup win or two, we might end up calling the Kings “the procrastinating dynasty.”

* – Tuesday had one other momentous comeback. The Washington Capitals stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in OT.