April 24, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall (55) and goalie Jimmy Howard (35) celebrate after the game against the Los Angeles Kings at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Wings needed their top players to lead the way, and that’s exactly what happened. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg each had two points, while Jimmy Howard made 23 saves to defeat the Kings 3-1 and temporarily move Detroit back into playoff position.

The first half of the game had a “here we go again” feel for the Red Wings, who outshot the Kings 13-4 but found themselves repeatedly stymied by Jonathan Quick in a scoreless first period. That feeling got even worse when L.A. got on the scoreboard first, with Kyle Clifford banging home a loose puck amid a goal mouth scramble at 5:28 of the second.

Datsyuk responded just over five minutes later. After a surprisingly heads up cross-ice pass from Jonathan Ericsson, he deked Drew Doughty by going forehand to backhand in a tight area and beating Quick for his 14th goal of the season.

The checking line of Patrick Eaves, Jordin Tootoo and Cory Emmerton had been lively all night, and they fittingly combined for the eventual game-winner 5:42 into the final frame. After multiple shots by Eaves, he got one more chance from above the circle and saw it smartly deflected by Tootoo and into the back of the net.

Howard had to immediately make several tough saves to preserve the lead, and the Red Wings were able to tack on an insurance marker on the power play. Zetterberg played give-and-go down low with Datsyuk before his spinning backhand pass found Johan Franzen in perfect position right in front of the L.A. net with less than seven minutes left in regulation.

The Red Wings got an extended 5-on-3 opportunity in the closing minutes but could not cash in. Quick was pulled late, yet Howard only needed to make one more tough save to secure the victory.

For at least one night, Detroit moved back ahead of Columbus and just a point behind Minnesota in the very tight race for the final two Western Conference playoff spots. Thursday night could be just as critical, as the Blue Jackets travel to face the tenth-place Dallas Stars while the Red Wings get right back to work at the Joe against the Nashville Predators.

It’s very possible the race could go right down to the final day, but if the Wings’ leaders keep playing like they did on Wednesday, everything just may work itself out in Detroit’s favor.

The game was over when…

The Red Wings didn’t fold after outplaying the Kings early but surrendering the first goal. There was a brief span where they seemed to panic and go into “let’s just throw it on net” mode, but they largely kept playing the same game that gave them statistical advantages in most categories and it eventually paid off.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

Normally I’d look to Eaves (who played like a man possessed) and Tootoo, but they are very much “sung” heroes after contributing to the game-winner. So the honor goes instead to Gustav Nyquist, who made multiple strong plays and was simply a bit unlucky not to end up with any points.

Jonathan Ericsson scored a stunning late goal after the Kings had also knotted up the game in the final minute, and Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard turned in his finest performance of 2013 as the Red Wings emerged with an improbable 3-2 win at Joe Louis Arena. L.A. peppered Howard with 47 shots, including 23 in the second period alone.

February 10, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (52) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the third period against the Los Angeles Kings at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The visitors almost rewrote the story of Howard’s heroics with time running out in regulation. With their own goaltender Jonathan Quick off for an extra skater, the Kings kept the puck in the Red Wings zone and applied heavy pressure. That paid off when Alec Martinez was able to take advantage of a scramble in front of Howard to find the twine for his first goal of the season with 53 seconds left.

Amazingly, that still left enough time for one more goal. Following a face off in Kings territory, a clearing attempt by Drew Doughty its way back to Jonathan Ericsson, who had maintained his position just inside the blue line. His big slap shot hit Quick, but it kept going with enough momentum to trickle across the goal line with just 4.5 seconds showing on the clock.

For a while it appeared Damien Brunner‘s sixth goal of the year, a snap shot off a nice two-man play with Henrik Zetterberg, might be the game-winning goal. That came all the way back at the 17:28 mark of the first period, and though Anze Kopitar scored before the first intermission, it almost held up the rest of the way.

That was primarily due to Howard, who also got the win in Saturday’s victory over the Edmonton Oilers. But the Wings netminder was tested much more often by the Kings, particularly in a second period when the ice seemed titled toward the Detroit end. Howard made saves with every piece of his equipment in the middle frame, perhaps none better than the one he made to stone Dwight King on a shot from right in front of the crease after he made an initial stop on a shot coming from his left.

Along with out-shooting the Red Wings 47-31, the Kings also racked up more hits, won more faceoffs and forced more turnovers. The only edge Detroit had was in special teams, killing off all three L.A. power plays while scoring on one of their own on Pavel Datsyuk‘s first period marker.

As unlikely as it was, the Wings will gladly take their third straight win and rest their tired legs. They return to action for a big rivalry game on Wednesday at the Joe against the St. Louis Blues.

The game was over when…

Quick couldn’t find the handle on Ericsson’s blast. Last year’s all-everything goalie hasn’t looked quite the same in 2013, perhaps due to off-season surgery. There was a bit of a screen set up by Valtteri Filppula, but even so, the last shot he faced was one that Quick probably wished he had back.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

Can I pick two in this game? It’s my segment, so I’m going to go for it. Both Tomas Tatar and Drew Miller made the most of their ice time, providing some energy in a game when Detroit was lacking it in big stretches. The Wings need their third and fourth lines to at least provide some semblance of a threat, and they did just enough against the Kings.