Red Wings-Kings Preview

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• Red Wings Blank Kings, 4-0

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
DET	51-21-10	27-9-5	24-12-5	14-8-2	39-16-9
LOS	34-37-11	18-15-8	16-22-3	10-10-4	25-30-9
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
289	Goals	202
240	Goals Against	226
90	Power Play Goals	69
71	Power Play Goals Allowed	62
6	Shorthanded Goals	4
4	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	8
824	Penalty Minutes	1207
10	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Chris Osgood	46	26	137	3.09	2	1071	.887
	Ty Conklin	40	25	94	2.51	6	939	.909
	Jimmy Howard	1	0	4	4.10	0	24	.857
	Jonathan Quick	44	21	103	2.48	4	1097	.914
	Erik Ersberg	28	8	65	2.64	0	586	.900
	Jason LaBarbera	19	5	47	2.83	2	392	.893

Team Stat Leaders
G	Marian Hossa 40	Alexander Frolov 32
A	Pavel Datsyuk 65	Anze Kopitar 39
PTS	Pavel Datsyuk 97	Anze Kopitar 66
PIM	Andreas Lilja 66	Raitis Ivanans 145
SOG	Henrik Zetterberg 309	Dustin Brown 292

The Detroit Red Wings rallied to avoid a second straight loss on their six-game road trip, but may find things to be much easier against their next opponent.

The Red Wings (30-7-6) will try for their 10th win in their last 11 games at the Staples Center on Thursday when they meet the Los Angeles Kings (17-19-6).

Detroit, which has won seven of its last eight, also comes into Thursday's game having won 18 of its last 20 games versus the Kings dating to Feb. 24, 2003. The Red Wings have taken both meetings this season, including a 4-3 shootout victory Oct. 27 in Los Angeles.

Trailing by a goal with less than 11 minutes left Wednesday, Detroit scored twice in 35 seconds en route to a 4-3 victory in Anaheim.

"I thought we started good, but we got too soft. There's no excuse of this team to play like that," said Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, whose team blew a one-goal lead in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss in Dallas. "If you want the puck more than the other guy and you're harder on the puck, you have a chance to win. And that's how simple tonight's game came down to."

Daniel Cleary and Johan Franzen scored in the third period and were among four Detroit players to find the net. Pavel Datsyuk also had a pair of assists, giving him 10 points in the last five games.

Tomas Holmstrom scored for the third time in the last four games, and Niklas Kronwall also contributed two assists, giving him five in his past three games.

After consecutive starts by Chris Osgood, Detroit is expected to put Ty Conklin on the ice Thursday. Conklin, who is 7-1-1 with three shutouts in his last nine starts, has won four of five starts against the Kings, including a 6-4 home victory on Dec. 20.

The Kings suffered their sixth loss in their last eight home games, a 3-1 defeat Monday to Tampa Bay, but it hurt on more than just the scoreboard.

Los Angeles' top rookie, defenseman Drew Doughty, suffered a hard hit in the second period from the Lightning's Evgeny Artyukhin and left the game with a bruised thigh. Doughty's status is not known for Thursday.

The hit failed to spark the Kings, who could muster only Peter Harrold's goal with less than two minutes left in the period.

"That's a response that players need to take in their own hands right away -- through hard play and just doing the right stuff, getting the puck into the offensive zone, physically playing hard and competing harder" said Los Angeles coach Terry Murray, who closed the locker room for 15 minutes after the loss. "That's something that this team, I think, should know. But we don't. Now we have to go through that process and learn something out of that hit on Doughty."

In dropping three of their last four, the Kings have struggled on end sides of the ice, scoring seven goals in that time and allowing 14.