The Kings were riding a comfy 3-0 lead late in the second period on Thursday night, and were ready to cruise to a victory, but they didn't account for Anaheim's Bobby Ryan. The rookie who began his season in the minors and was called up in November put on a clinic, scoring a hat trick (three goals) against Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick in the span of 2:21 to set a new franchise record and also tie the game.
"I don't think you ever expect to go out and do that," Ryan said. "Quick is a buddy of mine, so I think I have bragging rights on him. But one more would have done the trick. It's tough to succeed and have a good night when everybody else on the team isn't going as well as they would have liked to."
The Kings didn't panic though and were redeemed when Alexander Frolov buried the game-winner with 12:17 remaining in the contest.
"Ryan had a few nice goals there and brought their team right back into it," Quick said. "But you can't control what already happened. It's still a 3-3 game at that point, and your team still has a chance to win, so you've just got to focus on making the next save."
The Kings will try to turn the victory into a streak when they face off against the New Jersey Devils tonight at Staples Center at 7:30
