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Following impressive win, Red Wings host Kings

Dec 20, 2008 - 3:13 PM Los Angeles (13-13-6) at Detroit (21-6-4), 7:00 pm EST

DETROIT (Ticker) -- After proving their still the team to beat in the NHL, Pavel Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings will host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Datsyuk scored two goals and set up two others and Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist Thursday as the Red Wings cruised to a 6-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks, the NHL's best team.

Ty Conklin made 24 saves to post his second shutout of the season for the Red Wings, who have won six of their last eight contests.

Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and defenseman Brad Stuart also tallied for Detroit, which trails only San Jose in the Western Conference standings.

"They're on top of the conference and on top of the league and that's where we want to be, so we took this game as a little bit of a measuring stick," Conklin said.

"Any time you play a good team and you're a good team yourself, they help you get ready," Babcock added. "You get a good positive effort."

The Kings are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Los Angeles was shutout for the fifth time this season and handed its third straight loss.

"I liked the way we approached things," Kings coach Terry Murray said. "We hung in there with our effort, with our mental toughness, with our puck movement, with our team play."