Just an optional skate this morning for the Red Wings. Status quo on the lines from our morning preview post.
Line Combinations
Red Wings Lineup
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Teemu Pulkkinen |
| Gus Nyquist | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Tatar |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Darren Helm |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Danny DeKeyser | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Brendan Smith | Alexey Marchenko |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: Tomas Jurco (forgot to take out the trash/conditioning stint), Joakim Andersson, Jakub Kindl
Injuries: Kyle Quincey, Landon Ferraro, Johan Franzen
Power-play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Abdelkader, Tatar-Kronwall
- Pulkkinen-Datsyuk-Larkin, Richards-Green
Kings Lineup
Forwards
| Tanner Pearson | Anze Kopitar | Marian Gaborik |
| Milan Lucic | Jeff Carter | Tyler Toffoli |
| Dustin Brown | Nick Shore | Trevor Lewis |
| Kyle Clifford | Andy Andreoff | Jordan Nolan |
Defensemen
| Brayden McNabb | Drew Doughty |
| Jake Muzzin | Alec Martinez |
| Derek Forbort | Jamie McBain |
Goaltenders
| Jonathan Quick |
| Jhonas Enroth |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Los Angeles: 85-80-27-2
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the Kings: 3.46
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the Kings: 3.47
Key Match-ups
Anze Kopitar vs Datsyuk or Zetterberg
I’m going to guess that Koptiar will be given the task to shut down one of the Wings old stars. I’m also going to guess he’ll go up against the Zetterberg line. It’s the more lethal of the two lines thanks to Larkin. Kopitar is all-world two-way player and probably should have a Selke by now.
Kings offense vs Petr Mrazek
In Mrazek’s last 4 starts, the Wings offense has given one goal of support in each game (the team is 1-2-1 in those games). I would like to think the offense will score more than one goal tonight, but I’m surely not going to hold my breath on that one. Mrazek is going to have to stand on his head and shut down LA’s offense.
