Red Wings at Blue Jackets
With only three games remaining, the Columbus Blue Jackets' future regarding the postseason still is unclear as they prepare to host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Columbus occupies third place in the Metropolitan Division but ultimately could finish second, in a wild-card spot or out of the playoffs in the muddled Eastern Conference.
The Blue Jackets trail second-place Pittsburgh by two points with a game in hand, are even with top wild card Philadelphia and lead second wild card New Jersey by one point as they gear up for their penultimate home game of the regular season. The club completed a 2-0-1 road trip Saturday with a 5-4 overtime loss at Vancouver in which Artemi Panarin and defenseman Seth Jones each posted four-point performances. Panarin set up all four goals for Columbus, giving him eight points over his last three games and a team-leading - and career high-tying - 77 on the season. The Red Wings, who will be playoff spectators for the second straight campaign following a 25-season participation streak, aim for their fourth straight victory as they play their final road game of 2017-18.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (30-38-11): Dylan Larkin leads the team with a career-high 59 points, nine of which he has registered over his last seven contests. Captain Henrik Zetterberg has scored just one goal in his last 18 games for Detroit, which endured a 1-12-1 slump prior to its current winning streak. Anthony Mantha tops the club with 24 goals but has recorded just one in his last 13 contests.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (44-29-6): Columbus earned the point in Vancouver by scoring three times in the final 3:58 of the third period to erase a 4-1 deficit and force overtime. Jones recorded a goal and three assists to give him 54 points and eclipse the franchise record for a defenseman set in 2013-14, when James Wisniewski notched 51. Blue-liner Markus Nutivaara could miss the game against Detroit as the 23-year-old Finn exited Saturday's contest in the second period with an upper-body strain.
OVERTIME
1. Blue Jackets RW Cam Atkinson is riding a seven-game point streak (five goals, five assists) and has collected 11 goals and 11 assists over his last 18 contests.
2. Detroit LW Justin Abdelkader is mired in a seven-game goal-scoring drought, keeping him one shy of 100 for his career, while D Danny DeKeyser needs one point to reach the century mark.
3. Columbus has a showdown at home with Pittsburgh on Thursday before concluding the season at league-leading Nashville two nights later.