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Zetterberg, Datsyuk lift Red Wings over struggling Kings

Oct 15, 2007 - 3:51 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Detroit Red Wings continued their dominance of the Los Angeles Kings.

Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk both had a goal and two assists to lead the Red Wings to a 4-1 victory over the Kings at the Staples Center on Sunday night.

Tomas Holmstrom added a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who have won 14 of their last 15 meetings with the Kings - including seven of eight on the road.

"I've played with these guys (Holmstrom and Datsyuk) for a while," Zetterberg said. "The key with us is consistency, we have to bring strong effort every time. When we do, games like this will happen more often."

It was the fifth straight loss for the Kings, who haven't won since their season opener against Anaheim on September 29 in London. Los Angeles has also been outscored, 26-12, during their skid.

Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood, who was making the 600th start of his career, made 27 saves to win his second start of the season.

"Tonight, Ozzy (Chris Osgood) kept us in the game in the first period with some great saves," Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We were patient and then the opportunities came."

After a scoreless first period, Datsyuk scored 40 seconds into the second. Zetterberg fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier, but Datsyuk pushed home the rebound to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

Detroit doubled its lead at 3:06 of the second when Kris Draper raced down the right side and made a move to his forehand, sliding the puck just inside the left post for a shorthanded goal.

Los Angeles halved the deficit early in the third.

With the Kings on the power play, Michael Cammalleri blasted a one-timer from the top of the left circle to beat Osgood.

It was the sixth goal of the season for Cammalleri, who has scored in five of the six games for the Kings.

The Red Wings regained their two-goal advantage with 14:21 left when Holmstrom took a feed from Zetterberg and beat Bernier high to the glove side for his fifth goal of the season.

"We (the line of Holmstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg) have really good chemistry," Holmstrom said. "Those two create a lot of space for me with their speed. I've been getting the puck in great position through their efforts."

Less than two minutes later, Zetterberg scored his fourth of the season to give Detroit a three-goal advantage.

"I thought we were better tonight but it felt like it was the same story," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "We made critical mistakes at critical times of the game tonight. They are a good team and their top players were their best players tonight and we made mistakes when they were on the ice."

Bernier, who allowed seven goals in a loss to Boston on Friday, made 26 saves on Sunday.

"It's not getting easier but I'm not down," Bernier said. "I just have to bring the same approach to the ice every night and make sure my preparation is consistent."