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7:30p ET, Little Caesars Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: SNE, SNO, FS-D
Radio: WXYT-FM 97.1
Kings Blog: Jewels From the Crown
After a pair of back-to-back overtime losses this weekend, the Red Wings are now searching for their first win in five games as they return home. Tonight, they’ll be welcoming the Los Angeles Kings to Little Caesars Arena for the first time. It will also mark Detroit’s observance of Hockey Fights Cancer, so if you see a bunch of purple in the stands, they probably aren’t Kings fans wearing retro-style jerseys nor Al the Octopus super-fans.
The Red Wings made sure to practice that 3-on-3 hockey yesterday, preaching smart plays and patience. As of now, it doesn’t look like the players on the ice will be different from Saturday, though both Trevor Daley and Martin Frk participated in the skate Monday. Frk is still working through his groin strain, but should be back Saturday, if not Thursday; and Daley is recovering from the neck tweak he suffered early in the game against the Rangers. As of yesterday he wasn’t cleared to play, but he didn’t sound like he expected to be out much longer.
The biggest change to the line combinations comes in the placement of David Booth. After spending much of the young season as a healthy scratch, he got his first two goals of the season to open the scoring and then send the game to overtime. While most of his time was spent on the fourth line, he saw a few minutes on the ice with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist, and yesterday saw a huge reward for his play with a promotion to the top line with those two.
I mean, okay. That either pays off in the form of more goals or it’ll get the same Blenderizer 2017 (C) treatment as all of Jeff Blashill’s other line combinations, so I guess I can’t be too upset?
Side note: check out Booth’s official NHL page. That cover photo and his old roster photo from year and team unknown are something else.
Jimmy Howard was excellent in New York on Friday, and came in against the Devils when concussion spotters pulled Petr Mrazek out after a collision with Adam Henrique in the third period. Fortunately Mrazek was okay after the hit [insert rant about the failure of the spotters system here], and Howard kept the Wings in the game until they could tie it. He’ll be back in net tonight.
Red Wings Expected Lineups
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | David Booth |
| Tomas Tatar | Dylan Larkin | Anthony Mantha |
| Darren Helm | Frans Nielsen | Justin Abdelkader |
| Luke Glendening | Andreas Athanasiou | Scott Wilson |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Nick Jensen |
| Niklas Kronwall | Xavier Ouellet |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Luke Witkowski (suspended)
Injuries: Martin Frk (groin), Trevor Daley (neck)
Kings Expected Lineups
Forwards
| Alex Iafallo | Anze Kopitar | Dustin Brown |
| Tanner Pearson | Nick Shore | Tyler Toffoli |
| Marian Gaborik | Adrian Kempe | Trevor Lewis |
| Jussi Jokinen | Torrey Mitchell | Jonny Brodzinski |
Defensemen
| Jake Muzzin | Drew Doughty |
| Derek Forbort | Christian Folin |
| Kurtis MacDermid | Alec Martinez |
Goaltenders
| Jonathan Quick (starting) |
| Darcy Kuemper |
Jeff Carter is still months away, out after a nasty slash by a skate blade to the back of his leg. Andy Andreoff is out after taking a punch in the Kings’ game Saturday against Anaheim. Kyle Clifford is traveling with the team, but won’t be playing just yet. Finally, recent acquisition Torrey Mitchell was having issues with his work visa, but they should be resolved in time for him to suit up.
| KINGS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 13-8-3 (29 pts; 2nd in Pacific) | Record | 10-9-5 (25 pts; 3rd in Atlantic) |
| 2.79 (22nd in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.79 (21st in NHL) |
| 2.33 (2nd) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.88 (10th) |
| 17.5% (22nd) | Power Play % | 22.7% (8th) |
| 88.9% (1st) | Penalty Kill % | 84.5% (3rd) |
| Kopitar, Toffoli (10 goals) | Goals Leader | Anthony Mantha (11 goals) |
| Anze Kopitar (25 points) | Points Leader | Dylan Larkin (21 points) |
Let’s Go Red Wings!!
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Game Day Prediction Contest
Would you like to predict the outcome of the game and potentially become internet famous? Well you're in luck, because here's your opportunity. Here's how it works.
First off, if you don't have an SBN Username, make one! We'd love to have you, plus it's much easier to track your predictions season-long. Then make your guess on the winning team, final score, and who the Red Wings player of the game will be. Enter the required information into the form below using the formats indicated. If you don't use those formats, your answers will be disregarded. All submissions are timestamped and will be accepted only until the official game start time. Only one submission per person, please. The Red Wings POTG will be determined by the collective of WiiM writers.
Each correct winning team prediction is worth 1 point. Each correct player of the game prediction is worth 3 points. Each correct final score prediction is worth 5 points. If you get all three correct, you'll receive 15 points.
Good luck!