Red Wings at Kings preview
Detroit seeks fourth straight win; Kovalchuk expected to be scratched again for Los Angeles
by Dan Greenspan / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
RED WINGS (7-12-1) at KINGS (6-11-1)
10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-W, FS-D, NHL.TV
The Game
The Detroit Red Wings will try to extend their winning streak to four games when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Thursday.
The Red Wings defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday to win three straight games for the first time this season. The victory against the Ducks to start a three-game road trip ended a seven-game losing streak (0-7-0) away from Little Caesars Arena.
Forward Ilya Kovalchuk is expected to be a healthy scratch for the second straight game for the Kings, who defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Tuesday. Los Angeles has won consecutive games once this season, defeating the Calgary Flames (4-1) on Oct. 19 and the Winnipeg Jets (3-2) on Oct. 22.
Players to watch
Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri has four points (two goals, two assists) in three games since he was acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 6.
Kings center Anze Kopitar has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game streak.
They said it
"Nothing's 100 percent, but he's certainly had a good impact on our team. He's helped to create a second line that can be really dangerous. I thought they were our best line in the game against Anaheim, certainly offensively they were." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on Robby Fabbri playing with Valtteri Filppula and Andreas Athanasiou
"When you lose more games than you win, it's miserable. Nobody's happy. Nobody comes to the rink to stay close or have moral victories, but the attitude and the belief system has to stay up. You have to be responsible for what you bring to the rink everyday." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan on what he is asking of veteran players
Red Wings projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Anthony Mantha
Robby Fabbri -- Valtteri Filppula -- Andreas Athanasiou
Brendan Perlini -- Frans Nielsen -- Adam Erne
Darren Helm -- Christoffer Ehn -- Givani Smith
Madison Bowey -- Mike Green
Alex Biega -- Dennis Cholowski
Jonathan Ericsson -- Dylan McIlrath
Jonathan Bernier
Jimmy Howard
Scratched: Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek, Taro Hirose
Injured: Patrik Nemeth (illness), Justin Abdelkader (mid body), Luke Glendening (lower body), Trevor Daley (undisclosed), Danny DeKeyser (undisclosed)
Kings projected lineup
Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Jeff Carter -- Michael Amadio -- Tyler Toffoli
Adrian Kempe -- Blake Lizotte -- Austin Wagner
Matt Luff -- Nikolai Prokhorkin -- Kyle Clifford
Alec Martinez -- Drew Doughty
Ben Hutton -- Sean Walker
Joakim Ryan -- Matt Roy
Jonathan Quick
Jack Campbell
Scratched: Ilya Kovalchuk, Carl Grundstrom, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Trevor Lewis (lower body), Derek Forbort (back)
Status report
Hronek did not take part in the morning skate and Blashill would not discuss his availability against the Kings. … Kempe is expected to return to the lineup after he was scratched against the Wild. … Ericsson was recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and Hicketts was recalled on Thursday.
Stat pack
The Red Wings have the worst penalty kill in the NHL (69.3 percent), having allowed 19 goals in 62 chances. The Kings are second-worst (71.9 percent), having allowed 18 goals in 64 chances.. … Mantha has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Doughty needs three points to pass Jim Fox (479) for 10th most in Kings history.