On the Wings

Update (7:33 PM): Thanks to Brian for leaving the following comment:

 Just an FYI. The NHL Center Ice Online portal was updated in the past 48 hours so that may be affecting your NHL TV link. When I watched the Penguins game last night, it was significantly different. They added some features like a chat room and some other bells and whistles. Could be they found that back way into the system and closed the loop hole.

We’ll see what happens, but it does look like NHL TV won’t be an option any more. - Matt

Update (7:27 PM):  The NHL TV link does not appear to be working, so if you’re an out-of-market fan, you can try watching it on Yahoo! here.

Fans in the Detroit area, and probably the rest of Michigan, will be blacked out, but if you have FSN Detroit, that won’t be a problem. (thanks to IwoCPO for the link) - Matt

Update (7:10 PM): If you don’t have the NHL Network or FSN Detroit, try this link out. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, however, as it isn’t working for me like I expect it to at the moment. I’m getting an error pop-up rather than a “The game is starting, please wait”-type message. - Matt

Update (6:52 PM): Looks like the NHL Network has taken the game at the expense of Center Ice subscribers, so if you’re an out-of-market fan and don’t have the Network, you may be out of luck. If, however, NHL TV is showing the game as I expect it will, you can look for a link here as soon as I get it. - Matt

Update (6:47 PM): Helene St. James confirms that Aaron Downey will sit tonight in favor of Kris Draper. - Matt

Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 1-0 after their 4-1 win on October 14th. The remaining games will be played January 22nd in LA and February 7th in Detroit.

The last-place Kings are 2-7-1 thus far in December. Their two wins came against Buffalo on the 6th and Vancouver on the 10th. Since beating the Canucks, they’ve dropped four straight, beginning with a 6-3 loss to Chicago. The next night, they lost to Dallas; two nights later it was Minnesota; and two nights after that, it was Colorado. Tonight’s game is the first of a three-stop road trip that will take the Kings to Columbus and Nashville next. They are 4-9-1 on the road.

LA is lead offensively by Anze Kopitar, who has 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points. Not far behind are Dustin Brown (15-13-28) and Mike Cammaleri (14-14-28). Lubomir Visnovsky has just one goal, but has notched 18 assists. Alexander Frolov’s 16 assists put him at third, but six players have scored more than his four goals.

14-point man Ladislav Nagy (hip flexor) is out tonight.

Jason LaBarbera returned from a rib injury Monday night and stopped 36 shots en route to a 4-2 loss to the Avs. Despite his 6-10-1 record, he’s managed to put up a respectable 2.59 GAA and .917 save-percentage. It looks as though we’ll see him tonight rather than J.S. Aubin.

For the Kings’ perspective, see The Battle of California,  Inside the Kings,  Hockeywood Tonight,  Purple Crushed Velvet, and  A Queen Among Kings.

The Wings are 7-0-1 in December, with their only loss coming in a 4-3 shootout decision with the Oilers on the 13th.  They haven’t been playing their best hockey for the last week and a half or so, but nonetheless have continued to pull out wins.

The slide in their play was first noticeable in their 5-2 win over Carolina on the 9th, a game in which the score was not indicative of how close the game actually was. They just were not as dominant as they had been against Minnesota and Montreal. The next night, a tired-looking Red Wings team survived a third period push by the Nashville Predators and won 2-1. On the 13th, they were lucky to earn a point against a young and rough Oilers team in one of their most underwhelming performances of the season. Against Florida on the 15th, they played down to the Panther’s level somewhat and were unable to control the game. Finally, in their most recent game, they were largely out-played by a Capitals team that clearly wanted to make a statement. They are playing “B” grade hockey, not the “A” grade stuff they have shown so often this season.

Tonight is the last of a four-game homestand. They will hit the road after the game tonight and will face St. Louis tomorrow to kick off a five-game trip.

Tomas Holmstrom scored two goals in his return from a knee injury, bringing is total to 16.  Only Henrik Zetterberg has more goals, with 24. Two of the Wings’ defensemen have 20 or more assists but have yet to score five goals: Nick Lidstrom (3G, 26A) and Brian Rafalski (4G, 23A).

Kris Draper will return to the lineup tonight after missing nine games with a knee sprain. My guess is Aaron Downey will be a healthy scratch to make room for him. Kirk Maltby (back) is still out.

Dominik Hasek will start tonight. Chris Osgood will be the starter tomorrow night.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, and Winging It In Motown.

Hopefully the Wings will use this game to fine-tune their game heading into a tough road trip. The Kings are having a rough season, but they have the talent to make life difficult for teams and if the Wings float into this game as they have over the past week and a half, they’ll be in for a fight. I’d like to see the Wings play their trademark puck possession style and shut down the Kings completely. Will it happen? I can’t tell you.