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WGD: Game 31: Red Wings vs. Kings

Dec 10, 2018, 12:48 EST

The Red Wings had an impressive stretch of games that saw them go 2-0-2 against four of the league’s best teams. On Saturday, they dropped a two goal lead to the New York Islanders. There’s been a trend lately of them building a lead and then losing it. It’s happened in their last three games.

While the strong starts are certainly encouraging, they need to play that brand of hockey for a full sixty minutes. Sitting on a lead and waiting it out is not a winning strategy in today’s NHL.

Tonight, the Wings have a chance to build some confidence as they host an ailing Los Angeles Kings team. The Kings have had a tough go this year, currently sitting in 30th place with an 11-18-1 record.

THE RED WINGS

Detroit Red Wings lines via DailyFaceoff

LW	C	RW
GUSTAV NYQUIST Rating: 75.9#32 LW	DYLAN LARKIN Rating: 77.9#30 C	JUSTIN ABDELKADER Rating: 69.9#123 RW
ANDREAS ATHANASIOU Rating: 75.5#43 LW	FRANS NIELSEN Rating: 72.8#82 C	THOMAS VANEK Rating: 71.8#75 RW
TYLER BERTUZZI Rating: 73.2#48 LW	LUKE GLENDENING Rating: 69.6#168 C	MICHAEL RASMUSSEN Rating: 72.0#108 RW
CHRISTOFFER EHN Rating: 72.2#71 LW	JACOB DE LA ROSE Rating: 67.9#185 C	MARTIN FRK Rating: 68.8#114 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
NIKLAS KRONWALL Rating: 70.8#100 LD	MIKE GREEN Rating: 75.2#26 RD
JONATHAN ERICSSON Rating: 68.7#126 LD	NICK JENSEN Rating: 70.8#81 RD
DENNIS CHOLOWSKI Rating: 71.8#6 LD	LUKE WITKOWSKI Rating: 67.8#106 RD

The Red Wings have been hit hard with the injury bug. They are definitely missing Anthony Mantha and Darren Helm in the lineup, but strong performances from Frans Nielsen and Gustav Nyquist have made their absences hurt less.

On the back end, Brian Lashoff has yet to see ice time and that’s because Luke Witkowski is playing for Danny DeKeyser. Trevor Daley should be back on the ice soon, too.

THE KINGS

Los Angeles Kings lines via DailyFaceoff

LW	C	RW
ALEX IAFALLO Rating: 71.1#103 LW	ANZE KOPITAR Rating: 79.5#25 C	DUSTIN BROWN Rating: 77.9#18 RW
BRENDAN LEIPSIC Rating: 70.9#106 LW	JEFF CARTER Rating: 74.9#49 C	MATT LUFF Rating: 72.4#66 RW
AUSTIN WAGNER Rating: 72.3#76 LW	ADRIAN KEMPE Rating: 69.7#167 C	TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 73.3#44 RW
KYLE CLIFFORD Rating: 70.7#110 LW	NATE THOMPSON Rating: 67.1#188 C	MIKE AMADIO Rating: 70.4#97 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
DEREK FORBORT Rating: 71.8#73 LD	DREW DOUGHTY Rating: 79.6#11 RD
JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 75.4#24 LD	ALEC MARTINEZ Rating: 73.7#40 RD
DION PHANEUF Rating: 70.1#112 LD	OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.8#82 RD

The Kings are without superstar free agent acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk, but his season hasn’t been great anyways. In fact, the Kings don’t have much to write home about as all of their big name players are experiencing down time this year and they find a cozy spot at the bottom of the standings.

At this time, the playoffs are a long shot. But these basement teams can sometimes be the most dangerous. You are far more unpredictable when you’ve got nothing to lose.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Jimmy Howard vs. Jonathan Quick

After a few strong starts from Jonathan Bernier, it seems as though the Wings will go back to Jimmy Howard tonight. Howie has been stellar this year and is one of the biggest reasons the team is just outside of the playoff picture. While the team has been scoring lots of goals lately, they can be even more confident when they know Howard is backstopping them in net.

Jonathan Quick has had another tough year of injuries. He seems to be back for good now, though. If only he was playing better! Through his nine games this year, Quick’s posted a save percentage of .893 and a goals against average of 3.23. He’s 2-3-0 in his last five games.