Nagy, Frolov lead Kings to a 9-2 rout

A hint of what was to come Tuesday at Staples Center actually came Sunday a couple of time zones away in Chicago.

Call it “The Reawakening of Ladislav Nagy.”

And the Kings followed.

Nagy matched a career high with five points -- three goals and two assists -- in leading the Kings to a 9-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks in front of 18,916 at Staples Center on Tuesday.

They scored eight unanswered goals after trailing 2-1 in the first period, running through two Blackhawks goalies, Nikolai Khabibulin and Patrick Lalime.

The nine goals were a season-high output, and hardly a one-man show as Nagy’s linemate, Alexander Frolov, also had a career night with five points, scoring twice and adding three assists.

You have to go back to 1995 to find the last time the Kings scored nine times. They did so on Nov. 16, 1995, in a 9-2 victory over the New York Islanders.

For Nagy, it was his third career hat trick. In fact, Nagy had his first hat trick in a game against the Kings in 2003 when he was with Phoenix.

He laughed and said, “No,” when asked if he knew this was coming.

“It was a team effort. Everybody playing well, our line, me, Froly and Army,” Nagy said of himself, Frolov and center Derek Armstrong.

“Just the power play working really well for us. We got four or five power-play goals. So that was a great win for us.

“We just started having fun. . . . Right now, we just played like a team. We’ve got half a season to go and nothing to lose.”

Big picture: It was the Kings’ third consecutive victory after an eight-game losing streak, and had the crowd chanting this unexpected phrase midway through the third: “We want 10.”

The chemistry couldn’t have been better between Nagy and Frolov, whose second assist, a centering pass, set up Nagy’s third goal, only 16 seconds into the third, and brought the shower of hats.

Said Kings Coach Marc Crawford: “Nagy and Frolov had the puck on a string tonight.”

Additionally, defenseman Tom Preissing had a goal and an assist and Dustin Brown had two points, an assist and an unassisted goal, on a breakaway.

His goal, at 5:18 of the third, was his 19th of the season. Brown, who scored twice Sunday against the Blackhawks, said earlier Tuesday he noticed Nagy’s game coming back that night, a more diligent work ethic resulting in two assists at Chicago.

In a game filled with notable statistics, this one stood out: The Kings were five for seven on the power play against a very capable penalty-killing team. They last scored five power-play goals on Jan 6, 1996, in a victory against the Sharks.

This turnaround was vastly more dramatic than the one in Chicago on Sunday, which the Kings won 3-2 in overtime. Tuesday, the Blackhawks outshot the Kings, 8-0, before the game tilted the Kings’ way.

The long night got even longer for the Blackhawks. Of potentially deeper concern to Chicago was the injury suffered by star rookie center Jonathan Toews, who went out because of a sprained right knee in the first period and did not return. Toews came into the game tied for second in scoring for the Blackhawks with 32 points.

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