Red Wings-Kings: Detroit GameDay

Wednesday night marks the second of four games between the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings this season.

The Wings lead the series 1-0 after their 4-1 win on October 14th. The remaining games will be played January 22nd in LA and February 7th in Detroit.

The puck drops at 7:30 ET tonight. 

 

The last-place Kings are 2-7-1 in December. Their two wins came against Buffalo on the 6th and Vancouver on the 10th.

Since beating the Canucks, the Kings have dropped four straight, beginning with a 6-3 loss to Chicago. The next night, they lost to Dallas; two nights later it was Minnesota; and two nights after that, it was Colorado.

Tonight’s game is the first of a three-stop road trip that will also take the Kings to Columbus and Nashville. They are 4-9-1 on the road.

LA is led offensively by Anze Kopitar, who has 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points. Not far behind are Dustin Brown (15-13-28) and Mike Cammaleri (14-14-28).

Lubomir Visnovsky has just one goal, but has notched 18 assists. Alexander Frolov’s 16 assists put him third on the team, but six players have scored more than his four goals.

14-point man Ladislav Nagy (hip flexor) is out tonight.

Jason LaBarbera returned from a rib injury Monday night and stopped 36 shots en route to a 4-2 loss to the Avs. Despite his 6-10-1 record, he’s managed to put up a respectable 2.59 GAA and .917 save-percentage.

It looks as though we’ll see him tonight rather than J.S. Aubin.

For the Kings’ perspective, see The Battle of California,  Inside the Kings,  Hockeywood Tonight,  Purple Crushed Velvet, and  A Queen Among Kings.

 

The Wings are 7-0-1 in December, with their only loss coming in a 4-3 shootout decision against the Oilers on the 13th. They haven’t been playing their best hockey for the last 10 days or so, but have continued to pull out wins.

The dip in the Wings' play was first noticeable in their 5-2 win over Carolina on the 9th—a game which was closer than the score would indicate.

They just weren't as dominant as they had been against Minnesota and Montreal.

The next night, a tired-looking Red Wings team survived a third-period push by the Nashville Predators and won 2-1. On the 13th, they were lucky to earn a point against a young Oilers team in one of their most underwhelming performances of the season. Against Florida on the 15th, they played down to the Panther’s level and were unable to control the game.

Finally, in their most recent game, the Wings were largely outplayed by a Capitals team that clearly wanted to make a statement. They are playing “B”-grade hockey, not the “A”-grade stuff they've shown so often this season.

Tonight's game is the last of a four-game homestand. The Wings face St. Louis tomorrow to kick off a five-game road trip.

Tomas Holmstrom scored two goals in his return from a knee injury, bringing his total to 16. Only Henrik Zetterberg has more goals, with 24.

Two of the Wings’ defensemen have 20 or more assists but have yet to score five goals: Nick Lidstrom (3G, 26A) and Brian Rafalski (4G, 23A).

Kris Draper will return to the lineup tonight after missing nine games with a knee sprain. My guess is Aaron Downey will be a healthy scratch to make room for him. Kirk Maltby (back) is still out.

Dominik Hasek will start tonight. Chris Osgood will be the starter tomorrow night.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, and Winging It In Motown.

 

Hopefully the Wings will use this game to fine-tune their play heading into a tough road trip.

The Kings are having a rough season, but they have the talent to make life difficult for teams—and if the Wings float into this game as they have over the past week and a half, they’ll be in for a fight.

I’d like to see the Wings play their trademark puck-possession style and shut down the Kings completely. Will it happen? I can’t tell you.

(via On the Wings)