With the Wings having played last night, the skate in Los Angeles was once again optional, but we know Coreau is the starter and that both Sproul and Marchenko will be in for Kronwall and Smith, who were hurt last night. Aside from those two skating today, both Athanasiou and Jurco were on the ice for the Wings, but nobody seems to know whether or not AA will be back in after a night where the Wings had “too many passengers” according to their head coach.
[Update 3:10pm – multiple diggers say Jurco is out and AA is back in. Line combos are still a guess]
Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Tomas Tatar |
Henrik Zetterberg |
Anthony Mantha |
|
Gustav Nyquist |
Frans Nielsen |
Tomas Vanek |
|
Riley Sheahan |
Dylan Larkin |
Andreas Athanasiou |
|
Steve Ott |
Luke Glendening |
Drew Miller |
Defensemen
|
Danny DeKeyser |
Nick Jensen |
|
Jonathan Ericsson |
Alexey Marchenko |
|
Xavier Ouellet |
Ryan Sproul |
Goaltenders
|
Jared Coreau (starting) |
|
Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Tatar-Ott-Mantha-Zetterberg-Kronwall
- Athanasiou-Nielsen-Vanek-Larkin-Nyquist
Kings Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Marian Gaborik |
Anze Kopitar |
Dustin Brown |
|
Tanner Pearson |
Jeff Carter |
Devin Setoguchi |
|
Kyle Clifford |
Nic Dowd |
Trevor Lewis |
|
Dwight King |
Nick Shore |
Jordan Nolan |
Defensemen
|
Derek Forbort |
Drew Doughty |
|
Jake Muzzin |
Alec Martinez |
|
Brayden McNabb |
Kevin Gravel |
Goaltenders
|
Jeff Zatkovv (starting) |
|
Peter Budaj |
Power Play units:
- Pearson-Kopitar-Carter-Muzzin-Doughty
- Gaborik-Dowd-Brown-Gravel-Martinez
Keys to the Game:
Be Aggressive on the Forecheck
The Red Wings have found some success scoring this season when they play a more aggressive style of forecheck. The Kings have had a lot of success in recent years making every team they play battle for pucks all game long. With their defensive zone breakout/turnover issues it would behoove the Wings to push those battles as deep into the LA zone as often as they can.
Capitalize on Chances
The Kings are the best in the NHL at shot suppression. They do a fantastic job of grinding down teams, keeping them to the outside and blocking shots. The Wings have got to find ways to get to the danger areas on the ice with the puck and when they do they have got to finish.
Start on Time
It has been a problem for the Wings for several years now. They come out of the gate sluggish and often find themselves having to dig out of early holes because of it. This team is not good enough right now to keep doing that (as their record shows).
