The Detroit Red Wings’ schedule gets no easier on Monday as they’ll wrap up their 3-game home-stand with a tilt against the 26-14-and-6 Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
The Kings are 2-4-and-1 over their past 7 games, but they earned a point on Saturday in the form of a 3-2 OT loss to the super-hot Columbus Blue Jackets. LA is on a five-game road trip at present, and coach Jim Hiller told NHL.com’s Craig Merz the following:
Phillip Danault scored, and Kevin Fiala had two assists for the Kings (26-14-6), who have lost five of seven. Kuemper made 21 saves.
“A game we should have won,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. “I thought we deserved to win, but we’ve had games like that. We’ve pulled the rabbit out of the hat before. Satisfied. We had a really good 6-on-5. Got one point. This is not what we wanted, but we’ll take it and move on.”
Stalwart defenseman Drew Doughty’s return from a broken leg is imminent, and the AP’s game preview recalls that the Kings beat the Wings 4-1 way back on November 16th:
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Red Wings face the Los Angeles Kings in a non-conference matchup.
Detroit has gone 14-11-2 in home games and 23-21-5 overall. The Red Wings have gone 3-6-3 in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.
Los Angeles has an 11-11-5 record in road games and a 26-14-6 record overall. The Kings are 11-3-1 in games they convert at least one power play.
The teams meet Monday for the second time this season. The Kings won 4-1 in the last matchup. Adrian Kempe led the Kings with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Raymond has scored 19 goals with 33 assists for the Red Wings. Marco Kasper has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Kempe has 24 goals and 20 assists for the Kings. Alex Turcotte has scored three goals with two assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-3-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.5 assists, 2.3 penalties and 4.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
Kings: 5-4-1, averaging two goals, 3.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.
