Kings show character in victory

This is where the Kings could have fallen into the abyss of their history, a saga carved out by years of futility and deepened by four straight losses and five in six games before they faced the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

With every reason to surrender, including a long, late trip after a draining loss at Calgary, the Kings instead found motivation for an impressive performance that brought them to the halfway point of the season with a 23-15-3 record and in playoff position in the tight Western Conference.

“Desperation, mostly,” Michal Handzus said to explain the three-goal first period that launched the Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Wild at the Xcel Energy Center.

“We want to get back in the race. We knew we didn’t play that bad, we just had to step it up a little bit more and everybody has to give a little bit more.”

Handzus did his part with a goal and an assist. Alexander Frolov contributed two goals and an assist in his most dynamic game in too long. Ryan Smyth, still refining his timing after losing six weeks to a rib injury, scored for the first time since Nov. 11, a power-play goal that ended the Kings’ two-for-23 slump with a man advantage.

“We had, I believe, a great first half. We do have a lot of room for improvement,” Smyth said. “We want to get to postseason and it’s going to get tighter. It’s going to get harder. It’s going to be a grind. . . . Each point from here on in is so important.”

The Kings made a strong statement in avenging their 4-3 loss to the Wild on Monday at Staples Center.

Coach Terry Murray vigorously mixed his lines and sat unproductive winger Teddy Purcell, putting Dustin Brown on the top line with Smyth and Anze Kopitar, Frolov with Handzus and Brandon Segal and leaving Scott Parse with Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds.

Oscar Moller deserved better than to play with Raitis Ivanans and Peter Harrold, but there’s no disputing the outcome of Murray’s chemistry experiment.

“You get one win in the past six games, you need a change,” said Murray, who contemplated hundreds of line combinations before the game and made changes during the game too.

“You need to get some different look to re-energize guys. I like what I saw from a few players. Segal steps up to a higher line and played very well. Brownie brought some different things to Kopi’s line. I think the results of their energy showed that they liked it also.”

Richardson, off a rebound at 6:35, and Frolov, off a third-effort shot against goalie Niklas Backstrom at 15:49, gave the Kings a quick 2-0 lead. Segal got his first NHL point on Frolov’s goal with a pass to Handzus, who in turn centered the puck to Frolov.

Smyth’s deflection of a Drew Doughty shot made it 3-0 during a power play, at 18:54, and the Kings padded that to 4-0 at 3:17 of the second period. With a delayed penalty pending against Minnesota, Frolov set up Handzus for a one-timer from the right circle, a play that was well executed at every turn.

Murray said he was especially pleased with Frolov. “Not just the results, either,” Murray said. “He was moving his feet, good energy in his legs. He was on top of the puck. He was holding on and making plays. That’s the kind of player he can be for us and that’s what we need from him.”

Andrew Brunette cut the Kings’ lead to 4-1 at 4:50 of the second from deep on the right side and an unchecked Owen Nolan made it 4-2 at 13:57 of the third, but Jonathan Quick held off the surging Wild for a 27-save victory made secure when Frolov found an empty net at 18:22.

“That’s a character win,” Murray said. “That’s digging in and playing with the right kind of an attitude to get back in the win column.”

The Kings’ character is still being molded and will be defined over the final 41 games. The first half, defenseman Rob Scuderi said, “went pretty good. For a team that hasn’t had a lot of success the last few years it is a positive.

“But we’re not happy with the way we finished up the last five or six games. I guess when you look back at it you have to be somewhat pleased that we put ourselves in good position for the second half.”

For once, a second half that doesn’t have to end in that abyss.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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