Kings at Red Wings
Pavel Datsyuk hasn't missed a beat since his return from a separated shoulder - and neither have the Detroit Red Wings. Both look to continue their strong play when the Los Angeles Kings pay a visit to Joe Louis Arena on Friday. Datsyuk, who scored a goal and set up another in Detroit's 4-2 victory over Washington on Wednesday, has collected two tallies and three assists during his four-game point streak.
The Red Wings improved to 4-1-1 in their last six contests and look to keep the good times going against a Kings club that they swept in last season's two-game series. Los Angeles saw its eight-game point streak come to a halt with a 3-0 setback to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The blanking was the first suffered by the Kings since a 4-0 season-opening loss to San Jose on Oct. 8.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RSN, TVA2, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE KINGS (6-2-2): Jarret Stoll vented some frustration after his team dropped its second straight contest following a six-game winning streak. "Two losses in a row, that’s enough. We can’t have that," Stoll said. "It’s unacceptable for our standards, obviously. We've got to come out and get (ticked) off (Friday)." Los Angeles' special teams have left a bit to be desired during the skid, going 0-for-6 on the power play while yielding two tallies while short-handed versus the Penguins.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (5-2-2): Justin Abdelkader scored twice on Wednesday, and his line that includes captain Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist has accounted for 13 of the team's 22 goals this season. Nyquist joined Abdelkader by netting his fifth tally - and first since Oct. 17 - and Zetterberg could be in line to improve upon his team-leading 12 points on Friday. The veteran Swede, who collected a goal and an assist in Detroit's 3-2 shootout victory over Los Angeles on Jan. 18, has netted 17 tallies and set up 18 others in 38 career meetings with the Kings.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit G Jimmy Howard was in net for both of last season's contests versus the Kings, against whom he owns a 9-6-0 career record and 2.40 goals-against average.
2. With G Martin Jones getting the nod on Thursday, Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick will look to improve upon his less-than-stellar 6-12-1 career mark against the Red Wings.
3. Detroit recalled C Stephen Weiss from his conditioning stint with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Thursday.