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LOS ANGELES (AP) There are goals struck so well it can be hard to see the puck until it hits the net. And then there are those like the game-winner in the Los Angeles Kings‘ 4-1 victory Thursday night over the Detroit Red Wings.This puck danced Colorado Avalanche T-Shirts Authentic , took odd bounces, trickled off the back of unsuspecting goalie Jared Coreau and then landed behind the goal line to give the Kings a 2-1 lead at 8:22 of the third period.”When plays like that happen, it’s kind of in slow motion,” Kings forward Anze Kopitar said. ”I was right at the post seeing the puck tumble. I’m thinking, what’s going to happen? Can I get a stick on it? And then it rolled down his back. And I started celebrating.”The goal went to Kopitar, who had battled along the wall behind the Detroit net for the puck, finally flicking it out only for it to land on the roof of the net, take a slow bounce off the crossbar, fall on the back of Coreau and gently slide in for the tiebreaking tally.”It’s unfortunate,” said Detroit coach Jeff Blashill.Misfortune is all the Red Wings have known of late. Thursday marked their season-worst eighth consecutive defeat.The Red Wings had tied the game 1-all just 45 seconds into the third on a power-play goal by Gustav Nyquist.But then came the fluke goal for Kopitar. Tyler Toffoli added a late score and Dustin Brown had an empty-netter, and the final score did not reflect the tightness of the game.The Kings moved two points in front of idle Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division. They are one point behind second-place San Jose.Meanwhile, the Red Wings fell to 26-33-12 on the season.”If you watched that game tonight, you wouldn’t have known that team was out of a playoff spot, because they played like they were fighting for one,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens.The Kings jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period when Kopitar won a faceoff in the Detroit end and passed to Alex Iafallo Colorado Avalanche Hoodies Authentic , who quickly sent the puck to little-used Paul LaDue.A healthy scratch the previous 13 games, LaDue fired the puck past Coreau for his third goal of the season.”It was a tough stretch there, but the team was playing well,” LaDue said. ”You just have to stay ready. To come out and get that win tonight was unbelievable.”Jonathan Quick stopped 20 shots for Los Angeles.The 6-foot-6 Coreau made 18 saves for Detroit.Stevens had an interesting observation on Kopitar’s goal, the forward’s 29th of the season.”There wasn’t a lot of room out there for either team,” Stevens said. ”Just one of those games where you have to stay with it and hopefully catch a break.”We obviously caught a break there. It’s not often you see a play like that. Maybe it helped us out that the goalie was so tall.”The Red Wings were left to lament another opportunity lost.”You won’t get a lot of chances against a team like that,” Henrik Zetterberg said. ”They play very solid defensively, but don’t create that much.”It’s especially tough when they get goals like they did today. That second goal was a tough one.”NOTES: LaDue was recalled from the minors Jan. 29 but hadn’t been active since Feb. 13. … It was the 200th meeting between the teams. . Kopitar was credited with an assist on LaDue’s goal, giving him 51 this season to tie his career high.UP NEXTRed Wings: Head down the freeway to play Anaheim on Friday.Kings: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.— NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Pekka Rinne showed no signs of a letdown following his milestone 300th victory.Rinne made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and the Nashville Predators earned a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.The Predators starting goalie moved into 33rd place on the NHL’s career win list, passing former Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun.The Predators won their fourth straight game and moved into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.The Blues lost their sixth straight.”We scored four goals, but I thought that we had plenty more chances and good looks,” Rinne said.”The biggest thing for me is we did a great job defensively and didn’t give them too much. They have some very good players and had a few good looks but other than that, we did a really good job.”Austin Watson, Colton Sissons Colorado Avalanche Hats Authentic , Kevin Fiala and Scott Hartnell scored for the Predators. Watson has scored four goals against the Blues in as many games this season.”Maybe I get lucky against the Blues, I don’t know,” Watson said. ”It’s a Central Division opponent. It’s a rivalry game for us. They always have a good team. It’s always a physical battle. I think that gets the juices flowing a little bit.”The Blues have scored just seven goals during their six-game losing streak and have been shut out in consecutive games. Overall, St. Louis has not scored a goal in the past 140:24.”I think we’re obviously a pretty frustrated group right now, having trouble scoring goals,” Blues center Kyle Brodziak said. ”It’s tough. We’ve got to find a way. Whatever it is we need to do – talk about it, work on things – we’ve got to find a way to be better.”The Predators have outscored their opponents 19-5 during their four-game winning streak. Nashville has scored a combined eight goals in the first periods of those games, including two against the Blues on Sunday.Nashville swept the four-game season series from St. Louis, outscoring the Blues 13-4.”We have a pretty good rivalry with them, so any time we can kind of assert our dominance against them, we’re all for it,” Sissons said. ”We’ve been in some tough battles with them throughout the season and years prior, but it feels good to put them away like that at home.”The Preds grabbed a 1-0 lead just 4:45 into the opening period when Sissons took a pass from Kyle Turris and zipped a short-range wrist shot past Jake Allen.Nashville doubled its advantage with 5:39 left in the first when Fiala hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. Turris carried the puck in deep on a 2-on-1 break, then fired a wrist shot past Allen to the far side.”Full credit to the guys,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said of the game’s 11 a.m. Central starting time.”It’s a different scenario. You’re waking up early just to eat something that you might not want to eat that early in the morning and getting ready for the game that warmups are starting at 10:30. When the puck dropped Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys , they were ready.”The Blues have found themselves all too often trying to rally during the current losing streak.”We can’t sit around and hope something magical is going to happen,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”We’ve put ourselves in a hole and we’ve got to get ourselves out of it right now. It’s pretty simple.”The way to do that is number one, as coaches, we’ll look to see what we can do adjustment-wise, making any changes we need to make. But ultimately, it’s going to come down to work. That’s the only way.”The Predators struck early in the second period, with Hartnell scoring a goal for the third straight game. Calle Jarnkrok spun near the goal line and sent a pass through the crease to Hartnell, who blocked the puck in with his skate.The Predators added a fourth goal later in the period. Watson scored on a short-handed breakaway attempt, putting the Predators ahead 4-0.NOTES: The Predators traded forward Pontus Aberg to Edmonton for forward Mark Letestu, then sent Letestu to Columbus for a fourth-round draft pick. … Predators forward Craig Smith picked up an assist on the team’s second goal, extending his points streak to seven games. He has two goals and five assists during that stretch. … Nashville is expected to add center Mike Fisher back to the roster on Monday. … St. Louis forward Nikita Soshnikov, acquired from Toronto for a fourth-round pick earlier this month, made his debut for the Blues, playing on a line with Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund.UP NEXT:Blues: At Minnesota on Tuesday night.Predators: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night.—