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Red Wings seek bounce-back effort against Blues

Dec 15, 2010 - 4:26 PM (Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to bounce back from their worst loss of the season when they host the rival St. Louis Blues in tonight's Central Division battle at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings had won consecutive games heading into Monday's matchup with visiting Los Angeles, but the Kings handed Detroit a 5-0 setback. It was the most lopsided loss of the year for the Red Wings, beating a 5-1 setback to Atlanta on Nov. 24.

Detroit didn't get blown out by the Kings for a lack of effort, however, as the Red Wings fired 51 shots on net only to see Jonathan Quick stop every single one. Drew Doughty added three assists to help the Kings deliver the rout.

Jimmy Howard stopped 21-of-26 shots for the Red Wings, who fell to 2-3-1 in their last six games.

"I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "Their goalie was good and those things happen to you. You never want lose 5-0 at home, but we did see a lot of good things."

The rough loss to Los Angeles marked the Red Wings' third setback in their last four home games. Detroit is still 11-4-2 as the host this season.

The Red Wings were on the right side of a rout the last time they faced the Blues, as Detroit recorded a 7-3 triumph in St. Louis on Nov. 17. That marked just the third win in the last eight meetings with St. Louis. The Blues have dropped four of their last six in the Motor City.

St. Louis, which is eight points behind first-place Detroit in the Central standings, has recorded a point in its last four games, posting a 2-0-2 record during that stretch.

The Blues had a two-game winning streak halted their last time out, dropping Saturday's shootout decision to visiting Carolina. Jussi Jokinen notched the lone goal of the shootout in the 2-1 victory for the Hurricanes.

Alex Pietrangelo provided the lone goal for the Blues, who lost for the sixth time in their last eight trips to the ice. Jaroslav Halak played well in defeat, making 28 saves.

"We had really, really, really, really good scoring chances," said Blues center Patrik Berglund. "And we didn't execute."

St. Louis snapped a three-game road losing streak on Dec. 5 in Vancouver and is just 5-7-3 as the visiting team this season.