Ducks at Red Wings
THE STORY: The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks have two big problems – neither team can put the puck in the net and their No. 1 goaltenders are having trouble keeping it out. A losing streak will also end when the Red Wings host the road-weary Ducks on Saturday. Detroit has lost six straight (0-5-1) after opening the season with five victories. For its part, Anaheim has dropped four in a row (0-2-2) and is 1-4-3 since beginning 4-1-0 for its best start in five years. The Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard has lost four straight (0-3-1) after winning four in a row; the Ducks’ Jonas Hiller has lost three straight (0-1-2) and is 1-3-3 in his last seven after starting the season 3-1-0. Two of the four 40-somethings active in the NHL will square off when reigning Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, 41, tries to slow down Ducks forward Teemu Selanne, 41, as Anaheim’s seven-game road trip comes to an end.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS West (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (5-5-3): Anaheim is averaging 2.00 goals per game, second-lowest in the NHL to the New York Islanders’ 1.80. Selanne, who leads the Ducks in points (14) and shares the team lead in goals (five), called out his teammates earlier this week for a lack of effort. “There is no room for passengers, especially when the team is struggling," he said. Selanne’s nine assists equal the total output of top-liners Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (5-5-1): Detroit is 25th with 2.18 goals per game and has six goals in its last six games. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock broke up his top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, but it did little good in Detroit’s 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Zetterberg is a minus-6 while Datsyuk is minus-5. Datsyuk has 33 points (15 goals) in 33 games against Anaheim, which has lost six straight at Detroit.
OVERTIME:
1. Four of the last five Detroit games have gone under while the under is 4-1-1 in Anaheim’s last six.
2. Selanne is tied with Brendan Shanahan for 24th all-time with 1,354 points and tied with the current NHL disciplinarian for fourth with 237 power-play goals.