Kopitar helps Kings top Red Wings

DETROIT-- Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist for the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.

Dustin Brown and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings (14-8-3), who won two games in a row for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Oct. 24-28. Jonathan Quick made 23 saves.
"We're trying to find ways to win hockey games right now, and we got a big effort from our entire team," Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. "We've still got a long way to go to get where we want to be, but this was a good win."
WATCH: [All Kings vs. Red Wings highlights]
Mike Green scored for the Red Wings (10-10-5), who have lost five straight (0-2-3), including four at home.
"This is obviously not good enough," Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist said. "We've done a good job on the road, but we came home for a long stretch and haven't taken care of business."
Jimmy Howard made 32 saves.
"This is frustrating, and we have to figure it out," he said. "It seems like we play a simpler game on the road. That's my perspective."

Green gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 14:12 of the first period, beating Quick with a wrist shot for his second goal of the season. Frans Nielsen's backhand pass set up a 2-on-1 and Green waited for Kopitar to commit before shooting.
The Red Wings nearly took a 2-0 lead in the second period after a defensive mix-up by the Kings power play, but Quick made a lunging blocker save on Dylan Larkin's point-blank shot. Quick stopped Nyquist on a breakaway later in the period.
"We had enough chances to score more than one goal, but he's a good goalie who makes those crazy saves," Nyquist said.
Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead with goals later in the period.
"That was huge, because we were losing 1-0 and we had nothing going on," Kopitar said. "We gave them a great chance on our power play, but [Quick] makes that save and a couple more big ones, and we were able to come back."

Brown made it 1-1 at 17:43, beating Howard with a wrist shot from the left face-off dot for his 10th goal of the season. Kopitar gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 19:53, one-timing Drew Doughty's cross-ice pass into an open side of the net.
"When I'm on the ice, my first thought is always to get [Kopitar] the puck," Doughty said. "He does everything for us."
Kempe made it 3-1 58 seconds into the third period. Oscar Fantenberg shot wide, and the rebound bounced off the boards onto Kempe's stick for a tap-in.
"That sucked the life out of us," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We turned the puck over twice and it ended up in our net."

Kopitar gave the Kings a 4-1 lead at 12:17, beating Howard from the right side for his 12th goal of the season. Detroit had four shots on goal in the third period.
"Our goalie was really good in some crucial situations and that calmed us down," Stevens said. "We had the huge finish to the second and then played really well in the third."

Goal of the game

Kopitar's power-play goal at 19:53 of the second period.

Save of the game

Quick's save on Larkin at 11:45 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Brown's goal at 17:43 of the second period.

They said it

"I had a bad year last season, but this year I'm feeling good and I have confidence in my game. That might be the whole difference." -- Kings center Anze Kopitar
"We came out ready to wash away everything that happened at the end of the second period, and then they get a great bounce at the beginning of the third and that's the game." -- Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard

Need to know

Quick has stopped 48 of 50 shots in his past two games after having an .899 save percentage in a six-start losing streak. … Kopitar has 12 goals in 25 games after scoring 12 in 76 games last season. He and Brown have combined for 16 even-strength goals, matching their total of last season. … Nielsen's assist was his 400th NHL point in his 710th game. … Howard has allowed four goals in three of his past four starts after giving up that many once in his first 15 games.

What's next

Kings: At the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)