The Los Angeles Kings have been anything but stellar of late but they have managed to hang around and even gain ground in the Pacific Division.
On Thursday night, the Kings defeated the visiting Detroit Red Wings, 4-1, and climbed to within a single point of the San Jose Sharks who hold second place in the division.
“This time of the year it might take you all day to get the two points, but you want to make sure you stay with it and continue to do little things well, and I thought we did that,” Kings head coach John Stevens said. “That’s an important game for us. We all 
know how tight the race is, so games aren’t easy. It’s a good two points.”
Anze Kopitar had a hand in all four goals for LA with power play strike and three assists.
LA improved to 39-26-6.
Jonathan Quick kept it close through 40 minutes of play before the Kings broke it open in the third period with three goals; he made 20 saves for the win.
“I thought our best players led the way tonight, and Kopi was certainly one of them,” Stevens said.
Paul LaDue, Tyler Toffoli and Dustin Brown also scored for the Kings.
We gave up that goal but bounced right back. It showed resiliency and character of this team that we don’t get discouraged and we got the job done, Kopitar said of the third period outburst.
Gustav Nyquist had the lone strike for the Wings and it came on the power-play.
[WATCH:Â All Red Wings vs. Kings highlights]
Jared Coreau made 18 saves in taking the loss.
“We got lots of character in our room, there’s no question about that,” Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said. “We have fought our tails off for a long time here. Haven’t had results, that’s a hard thing. Our guys keep coming and playing. I think that speaks to the leadership that’s in the dressing room.”
The Red Wings dropped to 26-33-11 and have lost eight strait at 0-7-1.
“You better have a short memory in this league. You got to find a way to win the next game. Once this goes away, you learn from it,” Blashill added after the loss.
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