Murray Expects Red Wings to Be Focused

Tonight’s game at Detroit may be only an early regular-season contest, but the Kings know it will carry a lot of meaning for the Red Wings.

“We want to go to Detroit and knock off the Red Wings,” Coach Andy Murray said. “The last time we played there, I remember that we won.”

Murray’s right, and he can bet the Red Wings remember too. There’s no way they have forgotten how the Kings ended their season in April with a first-round clinching Game 6 victory at Joe Louis Arena.

Since then, the Red Wings have boosted their roster with goaltender Dominik Hasek, winger Brett Hull and former King Luc Robitaille.

“They are definitely going to be waiting for us,” said King right wing Glen Murray, who has four goals and a team-high eight points. “[But] last year is last year and this year is this year. We know it’s a new season, and we just have to be ready.”

The Kings are coming off their first home victory, a 4-1 win over the Mighty Ducks on Thursday, but are still not playing sound hockey.

“Hopefully, it is going to be one of those games that brings the best out of us and gets our team going the way we want,” Andy Murray said. “We’re still not playing the way we want to play. We got a win [on Thursday] and that is real gratifying, but I still feel we need to do better.”

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Against the Mighty Ducks, Murray made major line changes for the first time this season, and he’s thinking about keeping them for tonight’s game.

On one, Murray skated Adam Deadmarsh on a line with winger Steve Heinze and centered by Eric Belanger. He also had Jozef Stumpel center a line with rookie Jaroslav Bednar and Ziggy Palffy on the wings.

The third switch Murray made had Craig Johnson and Glen Murray on the wings and Bryan Smolinski at center.

By moving Deadmarsh off a line with Palffy and Stumpel, while also having Johnson and Glen Murray together, the Kings had a more balanced attack against Anaheim.

“We switched them around a little bit, but they were basically designed to play against the Ducks,” Andy Murray said. “We’re not sure how we’ll play Detroit. They are playing great hockey. It’s going to be a fun game.”

TONIGHT

at Detroit, 4:30 PST

Fox Sports Net 2

Site--Joe Louis Arena.

Radio--KSPN (1110).

Records--Kings 2-3-1-1; Detroit 6-1-0-0.

Record vs. Red Wings (2000-01)--1-1-1-0.

Update--The Red Wings have three players who have scored at least eight points: Steve Yzerman (eight), Sergei Fedorov (nine) and Brendan Shanahan, who leads the league in scoring with 12. King captain Mattias Norstrom is not expected to play because of an injured rib.