The Detroit Red Wings are coming off a massive win over the Kings on Thursday night, 4-3 in a shootout. The Ducks are coming in off a 3-1 loss to the Jets on Friday night.
Detroit Red Wings (19-16-4, 42 Points) vs. Anaheim Ducks (13-24-1, 27 Points)
When: Sunday, January 7
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Honda Center (Anaheim, CA)
TV: Bally Sports Detroit
Scoring Leaders
Detroit Red Wings
Points: Alex DeBrincat – 38
Goals: Alex DeBrincat – 17
Assists: Alex DeBrincat – 21
Anaheim Ducks
Points: Frank Vatrano – 27
Goals: Frank Vatrano – 18
Assists: Ryan Strome – 17
Expected Line Combinations
Detroit Red Wings
David Perron – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – J.T. Compher – Patrick Kane
Daniel Sprong – Joe Veleno – Michael Rasmussen
Robby Fabbri – Christian Fischer – Shayne Gostisbehere
Jake Walman – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Olli Maatta – Justin Holl
Anaheim Ducks
Trevor Zegras – Adam Henrique – Troy Terry
Frank Vatrano – Mason McTavish – Alex Killorn
Brock McGinn – Isac Lundestrom – Ryan Strome
Ross Johnston – Sam Carrick – Jakob Silfverberg
Cam Fowler – Jamie Drysdale
Urho Vaakanainen – Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov – Ilya Lyubushkin
By The Numbers:
League Ranking
Detroit Red Wings
PP%: 21.9 (13)
PK%: 81.1 (11)
GF P/G: 3.56 (5)
GA P/G: 3.44 (25)
Faceoff %: 49.5 (17)
Anaheim Ducks
PP%: 19.5 (18)
PK%: 79.6 (18)
GF P/G: 2.47 (29)
GA P/G: 3.34 (24)
Faceoff %: 48.8 (23)
Red Wings Player to Watch: Patrick Kane
Since joining the Red Wings, Kane has played 15 games and recorded 14 points on six goals and eight assists. He has three points on a goal and two assists on the power play. He has four points on one goal and three assists in his last five games.
Kane’s Line Assignments
Perron is playing on the second line alongside Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher. He will also play on the second power play unit with DeBrincat, Daniel Sprong, Robby Fabbri, and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Kane’s career vs. Anaheim
In his career against the Ducks, Kane has played in 50 games and has 54 points on 16 goals and 38 assists. Earlier this season against the Ducks, he had two points on two assists.
Between The Pipes
Detroit: Alex Lyon (7-4-0, 2.56 GAA)
Lyon last started on Thursday against the Kings, and he picked up the shootout win, stopping 40 of the 43 shots he faced; he also stopped both shots he faced in the shootout to secure the win. He has never faced the Ducks in his career.
Anaheim: John Gibson (7-16-0, 2.97 GAA) / Lukas Dostal (6-8-1, 3.53 GAA)
Gibson’s last start came on Friday in a loss to Winnipeg, in which he allowed three goals on 27 shots. In his career against Detroit, he is 7-5-1 in 13 games, and he’s given up 29 goals on 349 shots.
Dostal’s last start came on Wednesday against Toronto, and he took the loss in overtime, giving up two goals on 57 shots. In his career against Detroit, he has played in one game, which came earlier this season, and he got the win, stopping 29 of the 32 Red Wings shots he faced.
Wrap Up
The Detroit Red Wings have turned things around on this West Coast trip, winning two straight, and they have a chance to return home with a much-needed six points. They have currently won three of their last four. They also are one point out of the final playoff spot but are bunched up with three other teams who are all one point back of the Lightning. A win tonight can hopefully go a long way to keeping them in the race, with Edmonton coming to town and another matchup against a good Kings team next week.
In their last ten games against Anaheim, the Red Wings are 4-3-3, and both teams have scored 27 goals each in those ten games. The Red Wings lost the earlier matchup 4-3 at Little Caesar’s Arena.