Los Angeles Kings @ Detroit Red Wings Preview
By Ryan Cowley
Previewing the Los Angeles Kings’ 2012-13 season:
Game 10 @ Detroit, February 10, 2013, 9:30am PST (12:30pm EST)
The Los Angeles Kings continue their road trip in Motown for a rare 12:30pm EST against the Detroit Red Wings. With that, Kings fans on the west coast will have to tune in at 9:30am to catch the action.
March 9, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Darren Helm (43) receives congratulations from Detroit Red Wings right wing Johan Franzen (93) after scoring as Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) and defenseman Drew Doughty (8) reacts in the third period at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Kings hope to have more success against the Red Wings this season as they went 1-3-0 against them last season, which included an ugly 8-2 loss at Joe Louis Arena on December 17, 2011 that saw Jonathan Quick get pulled for the only time last year. Since Quick was already pulled in Anaheim last Saturday, the Kings hope that history does not repeat itself.
After a relatively slow start, the Red Wings are starting to find their way at 5-4-1 and winners of two in a row. With 13 points, they are currently in a three-way tie for 5th in the West with the Kings five points behind. While it still may be a little early to have a serious discussion about the playoffs, it’s never too early to start righting the ship and for the Los Angeles Kings, they will need to start doing that as soon as possible as they hope to forget their 3-0 shutout loss in Nashville last game.
Should the Kings hope to pull out a win in Detroit, they will need to contain a few of the Red Wings’ top scorers, including new captain Henrik Zetterberg who leads the club with 14 points and who shares the team lead in goals with five with rookie Damien Brunner, another weapon Los Angeles will need to keep in check. With three goals and seven assists thus far, Pavel Datsyuk will also need to be contained should the Kings hope to succeed tomorrow.
In goal, the Kings may have an easier time scoring as Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard has yet to play up to his standard. With a 4-4-1 record to go along with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage, the Kings need to take advantage of Howard’s lacklustre play. Of course, the Red Wings backstop can turn a corner at any point so it’s up to the silver-and-black to do whatever they can to capitalize.
While defenseman Willie Mitchell is still sidelined with a knee injury, the Kings went out and acquired Keaton Ellerby from the Florida Panthers on Friday. The 6’4 defenseman was in practice and is expected to make his Kings debut tomorrow in Detroit.
While Jeff Carter leads the team with four goals so far, it’s about time for the rest of the Kings to step up offensively. While Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar each have three goals, others need to take the bull by the horns and create more traffic in front of the net and create as many chances as they can while doing so. The amount of shots are there but it is quality over quantity and the Kings just aren’t putting as much of the former in as they can. Hopefully, a trip to the Motor City will help them.
Enjoy the game!