Phillip Danault and Quinton Byfield scored in the second period and the Kings beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Vladislav Gavrikov and Drew Doughty also scored for the Kings, who have won three straight after losing five in a row. Darcy Kuemper finished with 33 saves to get his 20th win of the season.
Anders Lee scored and Ilya Sorokin had 28 saves for the Islanders, who had two goals disallowed for goalie interference. New York has lost two straight and three of the last five.
Gavrikov gave the Kings a 1-0 lead on a one-timer with 4½ minutes to go in the first period.
Lee tied it for the Islanders on a shot from the inside edge of the left circle 8½ minutes into the second.
Danault put the Kings back ahead 37 seconds later from a similar spot on the other end of the ice, and Byfield made it 3-1 with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway with 6 minutes remaining in the middle period.
Doughty added an empty-net shorthanded goal with 1:17 left.
Takeaways
Islanders: After winning four of five to move three points out of a wild-card spot, the Islanders have lost two straight and now sit five points out with 18 games remaining.
Kings: Los Angeles, third in the Pacific Division, moved one point behind second-place Edmonton.
Key moment
Anthony Duclair appeared to tie the score 2-2 for the Islanders midway through the second period, but the Kings challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was disallowed after a review. Byfield then put the Kings ahead by two 3½ minutes later. Lee also had a goal disallowed for goalie interference with 2:05 remaining in the middle period.
Key stat
The Kings came in 11th on the penalty-kill at 80.9% and went eight for eight against the Islanders while scoring their third and fourth short-handed goals of the season.
Up next
Islanders host Edmonton on Friday and the Kings host Washington on Thursday.