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DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings got a break, getting credit for a goal in perhaps one of the most bizarre ways in NHL history. Niklas Kronwalls shot was deflected and bounced off the protective net out of play, caromed back over the glass, and struck goalie Jonathan Quicks back to tie the game with 26.1 seconds left in regulation. Tomas Tatar scored in the shootout, and Jimmy Howard stopped all three shots he faced in the tiebreaker to lift Detroit to a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. "Thats embarrassing for the league," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "It doesnt matter if we wouldve scored it or they scored it." Kronwall seemed to agree. "It shouldnt have counted," he said. "But at this stage of the game where were at in the standings, well take it." The Red Wings, who lost their two previous games 1-0, are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and are in a logjam for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Detroit avoided getting shut out in three straight games for the first time in the regular season, and the first time since the 1945 Stanley Cup finals against Toronto. The Kings, especially defenceman Drew Doughty tried to protest Kronwalls goal, but it wasnt reviewable because none of the officials blew a whistle to stop play when the puck hit the net. "They just said they didnt see it," Doughty said. "Its unfortunate. We shouldve got two points. "Ive never seen that before, thats for sure." Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead when Jeff Carter scored off a rebound during a power play with 2:15 left in the third period. Quick and Howard -- two of the three U.S. Olympic goalies -- bumped into each other and had a heated exchange during a stoppage in play midway through the second period. "We were just discussing what we were going to do in Sochi," Howard joked. Howard roughed up Kings forward Kyle Clifford when he slid into the crease. Howard and Mike Richards then shoved each other and were called for roughing. Howard later skated toward his bench during a break, Quick stood in his way to say something, and the two had to be separated. "For him to do that, I thought it was pretty cool," said Doughty, who will play for Canada next month at the Winter Olympics. "I loved it, actually." Howard finished with 30 saves. Quick, who stopped 33 shots, shrugged off the tough-luck loss. "Season ended against Chicago, Game 5, last year," he said. "Thats tougher." Richards broke a scoreless tie at 9:06 of the second, and Henrik Zetterberg tied it 41 seconds later. The Kings went ahead on a power play, but Dwight King was penalized for holding onto the puck with 1:45 left in regulation. That proved to be costly. "They could see the puck when Dwight King covered it with his hand, but they couldnt see it when it went over the barn and came back in," Sutter said. Zetterbergs goal ended a scoreless streak that lasted 152 minutes, 21 seconds and dated to last weeks win against the Kings. The Red Wings started a season-high, five-game homestand, and they hope that is good news. Detroit, which had won only one of its last eight home games, started Saturday with an NHL-low six home victories this season. The Red Wings won for just the second time in nine shootouts. Detroit was without seven skaters who would have been in its lineup if healthy, including Pavel Datsyuk for the sixth straight game because of a lower-body injury. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said the team has players making "millions and millions," that never seem to play. NOTES: Tatar returned from a one-game absence to attend his fathers funeral and replaced Mikael Samuelsson. ... Kings D Matt Greene was scratched for a second straight game because of an upper-body injury. ... Datsyuk isnt expected to play Monday against St. Louis. ... 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He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. Dwight Clark Jersey . Harris has played in six games since joining the Argos in 2012, completing 17-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown.TORONTO -- For the Toronto Maple Leafs, its time to rest, not panic. Losers of three in a row, the Leafs had a full day off Thursday after a rough run of six games in six cities in 10 days. Theyll now attempt to regroup before an already tenuous playoff picture gets more dicey. "First thing is get rest. Its been a gruelling stretch, a ton of travel, a lot of tough games where were seeing a lot of teams best efforts here," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "Get some rest and then come back refocused and get some of that confidence back that we had going to the West Coast." Confidence in the Leafs might be waning from the outside after losing to the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. But within the locker-room Wednesday night there was plenty of belief that those games featured some positive elements to build on. "No sense in panicking," said goaltender James Reimer, who has been thrust into the starting role since Jonathan Bernier was injured last week. "I think weve played some good hockey in the last three games, at times, and we know what we can do. I obviously believe in our team, we all believe in each other. "Its a case where, I think, with some fresh legs and kind of a little break here and get back at it, well be right back on top of our game again." Finding the top of their game is paramount to the Leafs, who occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after falling out of the top three in the Atlantic Division. They were as high as second, three points up on the Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, after beating the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13. In the three games since, Toronto has given up the first goal in each and struggled with defensive breakdowns in front of Reimer. Fixing the brutal starts might be the first order of business going into Saturdays game against the Montreal Canadiens and the final 10 after that. "Weve had a trend over the last three games where we seem like were starting a little sluggish or were not getting the exact start that were wanting," winger Mason Raymond said. "I thought later in (Lightning) game we showed that desperation, but we need that for 60 minutes. I think at the end of the day for me, (the kkey is) playing the 60 minutes in that desperation mode.dddddddddddd" Finding that "desperation mode" could have a lot do to with having more energy in reserve. At least thats coach Randy Carlyles hope after watching his team run on empty. "We just come off a 10-day road trip and we play tonight off a back-to-back," Carlyle said Wednesday night following a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. "Thats not an excuse, but its a trying situation, and its not easy." The Leafs have also made life hard on themselves by giving stars like Steven Stamkos way too much room close to the net. Defensive breakdowns like the ones that led to Stamkoss hat trick are likely on the to-do list for Fridays practice. "It comes down to doing the basic things, every night doing the simple things," defenceman Tim Gleason said. "I think as a group of five, we really have to button down, get pucks out when we can and do the simple things in our zone and the offence will take care of itself and well get our chances." If the Leafs are getting offensive chances, theres enough firepower from Phil Kessel (35 goals) down the lineup to make things happen. But Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and defenceman Jake Gardiner (five goals in seven games) scored against Tampa Bay and it wasnt enough. Only minutes after that defeat, players wanted to move on and separate themselves from this losing streak. The best way to do so is finding a winning recipe -- before it gets too late. The Leafs have played 71 games, the most of any team in contention in the East, which also means they no longer control their playoff hopes. The Detroit Red Wings, who visit Air Canada Centre on March 29, are in the drivers seat if they keep winning. Thats not a comfortable spot to be in with just 11 games remaining in the regular season. These are almost desperate times in Toronto. "Obviously we havent played as well as we need to, and were not sitting here saying that were playing the type of hockey that is required to have success," Carlyle said. "Well, we lost three games in a row and if we show the desperation that we displayed in the last half of the game for 60 minutes, we surely could improve our chances. Thats for sure." ' ' '