Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice, and Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves for the Red Wings (7-12-2), who won their previous three games. Anthony Mantha had two assists for Detroit to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists).
"I thought we played really good," Bernier said. "You know, it comes down to finding a way at the end there, the 6-on-5, to eliminate that rebound or try to block it, or somehow you got to find a way. But I thought overall it was pretty good. We picked up our game, and I thought the second half was really good."
Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan praised Kempe's effort for getting positioning in front of Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson for the tying goal.
Kempe returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch against Minnesota but played at left wing instead of center. McLellan said he believes the change of position will allow Kempe to get on track after he had four points (one goal, three assists) in his first 17 games of the season.
"You better be able to play all over the rink, but if it's on the wall where he believes he is most effective, then we're going to play him there for a little while and get his confidence up," McLellan said. "But I think when it's all said and done, it's just him playing really hard and competitive tonight. If he's comfortable there, then great."
The Red Wings went in front 2-1 at 2:58 of the third period. After Kings defenseman Sean Walker turned over the puck in his own zone, Bertuzzi scored from the slot off a pass from Dylan Larkin. It was Bertuzzi's second multigoal game of the season.
Bertuzzi tied it 1-1 with a shot from the left face-off circle off a pass from Mantha on a 2-on-1 rush.
The Kings took a 1-0 lead when Kopitar scored on the rebound of a shot by Walker that deflected off Iafallo and hit the post.
