On the Wings

Update (7:35 PM): via Red Wings pre-game on FSN:  Mikael Samuelsson is out with a groin injury. He could return sometime during the trip. In the meantime, Aaron Downey (#20) will get some playing time. - Matt

Tonight is the first of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won last year’s series, 3-1. The remaining three games will be played in December, January, and February.

The Kings have dropped four in a row since winning their opener September 29 in London, 4-1 over the Ducks. They lost the second of the London miniseries, 4-1 and returned home to lose to the Blues on October 6, 5-3. The Stars wiped them out, 5-1, four days later in Dallas and then they dropped another home game, 8-6 to Boston. Tonight’s game is the second in a three-game homestand that began against the Bruins.

Former Michigan star Mike Cammalleri and Anze Kopitar lead the Kings with 7 points each. Kyle Calder has just one goal thus far this season and is a minus-2, averaging 13:29 in ice time.

The Kings have used two goalies this season, with rookie Jonathan Bernier starting three times and Jason LaBarbera twice. Bernier has a GAA of 4.04, but given that he’s 19 years old, that isn’t really that bad. LaBarbera’s 4.50 GAA, on the other hand, is bad. It looks like he’ll be the one in net tonight, as Bernier started against the Bruins.

The Wings lost for the first time in regulation Friday night, dropping a game to the Chicago Blackhawks for the second time this season. They had a two-game win streak going after beating the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames earlier in the week. Tonight is the first stop in a four-game road trip. The team will be in Anaheim tomorrow night before heading up to San Jose Thursday. After that, they’ll head to Phoenix Saturday before flying home.

The only injury at the moment is Johan Franzen. The only lineup change that could be considered likely is a defensive one, as Mike Babcock could possibly decide that Andreas Lilja has made enough mistakes for the time being. In that case, Derek Meech would get the nod. That’s more wishful thinking than anything else, though.

Chris Osgood will be in net tonight and Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow against the Ducks.

The Kings are a struggling team at the moment and that puts the Wings in prime position to start their trip off right. They shouldn’t take LA for granted, though, as they do have talent and could use it. The Wings just need to play their game and come out with a win or tomorrow night will be that much harder.