The Detroit Red Wings got exactly what they needed on Friday night. Led by Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings beat the Los Angeles Kings by a final score of 4-3.
Detroit lost is two previous games. That allowed the St. Louis Blues to move past them in the central Division and take the overall lead in the Western Conference standings. Until the final minutes of regulation, it looked like the Wings might be headed for a third loss and a deeper hole.
Dwight King scored for the Kings with six minutes left to play to break a tie and give LA a 3-2 lead. Two minutes later Valtteri Filppula finally did a little scoring of his own, after assisting on the two previous goals. He tipped the puck in with assists from Brendan Smith and Henrik Zetterberg.
Darren Helm put the Red Wings on top with a goal at the 18:47 mark. Detroit had the lead, but was forced onto a penalty kill after a Brad Stuart tripping penalty. Joey McDonald turned away two shots on goal to help kill the man advantage and preserve the win.
The Red Wings play the Predators in Nashville on Saturday.
For more on the Detroit Red Wings, head over to Winging It In Motown. For more on the Kings, head to Jewels From The Crown. More on the NHL in general can be found at the SB Nation NHL hub at sbnation.com/NHL.