DETROIT _ Unfortunately for Red Wings fans, this is the type of game they've been more accustomed to this season.
After two victories and two games where the Red Wings did plenty of positive things in a variety of areas, it was back to normal Sunday.
The Wings looked sluggish, unenergized, and mostly bad, in a 4-2 loss to Los Angeles at Little Caesars Arena.
Anze Kopitar had two goals, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli had one each, and goalie Jack Campbell (Port Huron) made 22 saves as the Kings (14-18-3) swept the two-game season series against the Wings.
Filip Zadina and Madison Bowey produced the lone Wings' highlights with late goals.
Zadina scored his second goal of the season in the third period. Zadina now has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last eight games while securing his spot on the roster.
Zadina put back a rebound of Bowey's shot at 9 minutes, 51 seconds of the third period, cutting the Kings' lead to 4-1.
Bowey sliced the Kings' lead to 4-2 with his second goal of the season, at the 17:38 mark, on a shot from the point that appeared to deflect off a Kings' stick past Campbell.
Los Angeles is 10 points and two places above the Wings (9-23-3) in the overall standings, but the gulf seemed more than that most of Sunday's game.
The Kings outshot the Wings 32-24, dominated possession of the puck for much of the game, and didn't let the Wings get close to Campbell.
There have been more than a few Wings players slowed by illness in recent days, and playing their third game in four nights wasn't ideal. But coach Jeff Blashill wasn't going to use the schedule and illness as an excuse.
"The league doesn't care if you're ill or if you're hurt or if you're tired, or anything like that," Blashill said in his pregame media briefing. "The league just cares about performance on the ice and wins and losses.
"Certainly L.A.'s not going to care if any of us don't feel good or didn't get quite enough sleep. We have to go out and we have to find a way to grind it out and play great hockey."
The Wings have been taking extra precautions, said Blashill, with the bug circulating around the roster.
"We're doing all the things precautionary-wise that we can, but once you get here, you have to put the mental frame of mind where you're not worried about anything but trying to be your very best," Blashill said.
The Wings looked a step flow from the start Sunday, and the Kings gradually took control.
Carter opened the game's scoring at 12:15 of the first period with his 10th goal.
Carter put a shot on goalie Eric Comrie, who was making his first start at Little Caesars Arena, and it was denied. But Carter pounced on a juicy rebound and flicked the puck into the net.
The Wings had two power-play opportunities in the last half of the first period, an excellent chance to get back into the game. But a power play that's shown signs of life recently put no pressure on the Kings.
The Kings crushed a lot of the Wings' momentum in the opening moments of the second period.
Kopitar, who has dominated the Wings in his career, appeared to be intending to pass the puck to a streaking Dustin Brown. But the puck bounced off the skate of Jonathan Ericsson and past Comrie, just 40 seconds into the second period.
After a pair of Kings power plays went nowhere, Kopitar extended the lead to 3-0 with his 13th goal at 11:14 of the period.
Alex Iafallo put a shot on net that Comrie stopped, but left the rebound directly for Kopitar on the doorstep.
With the Wings making a late push early in the third period, the Kings snuffed out any remaining hopes on Toffoli's ninth goal at the 6:40 mark.
The Kings don't resemble the Stanley Cup champions they were earlier this decade, but still have some high-end talent that can control games.
"They're well-coached, they've got a couple of two of the better players at their positions in Kopitar and (Drew) Doughty, and Carter has been, too," Blashill said. "They're going through their growing pains, similar to what we've gone through."
