Kings vs. Red Wings Preview
DETROIT, MI (AP) – Having struggled away from home this season, the Los Angeles Kings may not be looking forward to five consecutive road games.
Starting that trip against the Detroit Red Wings is also perhaps less than appealing.
The Kings will try to earn their third win in 18 games at Joe Louis Arena while denying the Red Wings a third straight victory Monday night.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Red Wings –172 money line favorites for Monday’s game against the Kings. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 61% of more than 2,356 bets for this game have been placed on the Red Wings -172.
Trends show Detroit is 6-3 ATS versus Los Angeles over the past three seasons.
Los Angeles (16-10-1) has lost five of six on the road, including a season-high three straight, to fall to 5-8-0 away from home. The Kings do enter this trip having gone 3-0-1 on their homestand, which included a 3-2 overtime win over Detroit on Dec. 4.
The Kings couldn’t complete the stretch on a high note, falling 3-2 in overtime to Minnesota on Saturday. A pair of stick-handling miscues by goaltender Jonathan Quick led to the Wild’s two goals in regulation and Brent Burns scored in the extra period.
Ryan Smyth had tied it for Los Angeles 1:09 into the third period.
“I feel a big responsibility for the loss,” Quick said. “We outplayed them for the majority of that game. But everyone makes mistakes. It’s part of the game. … I’ve just got to be better. You can’t make those mistakes.”
The Kings went 1 of 9 on the power play and have gone 2 for 22 in the last five games.
Los Angeles hasn’t scored on the power play in its last three games against Detroit, but earned one-goal victories each time as the Red Wings squandered leads in all three.
Detroit held a 2-1 advantage early in the first period Dec. 4 but lost on Anze Kopitar’s goal with 56 seconds left in overtime.
On Feb. 6, the Red Wings had a 3-0 lead after one period in Los Angeles before falling 4-3. The Kings also rallied from an early 2-0 deficit in their last trip to Joe Louis on Jan. 23, snapping a three-game skid there with a 3-2 victory.
Los Angeles, though, is 2-11-3 with one tie at Detroit since the start of the 2000-01 season. The Kings will face a Red Wings team that held on to an early 2-0 lead at New Jersey on Saturday.
Detroit scored twice in the first 1:42 en route to a 4-1 victory, their second in a row following a season-worst three straight defeats. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists, giving him seven points in his last three games.
The Red Wings, 11-3-2 at home, have scored eight goals in their back-to-back victories after producing six during their losing streak. Detroit is scoring 3.43 goals per game this season after averaging 2.72 in 2009-10.
Backup Chris Osgood earned his 399th win Saturday but is unlikely to be in net Monday, when he could become the 10th goaltender in history to reach the 400 mark.
“He wants that (milestone), and the guys want it for him,” coach Mike Babcock said. “We’re going to play (Osgood) a lot on back-to-backs. In the meantime, we’re going to be playing (Jimmy Howard).”
Osgood suffered the loss to Los Angeles earlier this month but has gone 10-2-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average in his last 13 starts versus the Kings. Howard gave up a combined seven goals while losing his last two matchups with Los Angeles last season.
Quick has posted a 2.28 GAA during the three-game win streak over Detroit.
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