Kings at Red Wings
THE STORY: The Detroit Red Wings look to overcome their injuries and
end a two-game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Kings on
Friday. Detroit, which has lost three of four at Joe Louis Arena
following its NHL-record 23-game home winning streak, will be without
key players such as All-Stars Pavel Datsyuk and Jimmy Howard, captain
Nicklas Lidstrom and Todd Bertuzzi. The Red Wings trail the
league-leading St. Louis Blues by four points in the Central Division.
Los Angeles, which lost the first two meetings of the season with
Detroit by a combined 12-3 score, is 1-1-0 on its four-game road trip.
The Kings are one point behind San Jose for eighth in the Western
Conference.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, KCOP-13 (Kings), FS Detroit (Red Wings)
ABOUT THE KINGS (31-24-12):
Captain Dustin Brown set up Anze Kopitar while shorthanded for Los
Angeles' goal in Thursday's loss at Columbus. The assist extended
Brown's points streak to six games while Kopitar's tally ran his points
streak to five. Brown has registered five goals and five assists during
his run. The Kings have struggled on the road lately, dropping four of
six and eight of 12.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (43-21-3): Detroit is 2-4-1 without Datsyuk, who
is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Datsyuk began his road
back Thursday as he skated during practice. "Nice to come back and skate
with teammates," Datsyuk said. "Every day closer." Coach Mike Babcock
said he'll get some of his injured players back in he lineup soon. "He's
going in the right direction," Babcock said. "Soon I think you'll see
Nick back and Bert back soon, too." Lidstrom has missed four games with a
bruised ankle while Bertuzzi is out with a groin injury. Howard will
skip his second straight contest with a strained groin.
OVERTIME:
1. Los Angeles is 6-21-2 in its last 29 visits to Detroit.
2. The road team has won four of the last five meetings.