Red Wings at Blue Jackets
The Detroit Red Wings are wobbling down the stretch, losing two straight games and five of seven overall in March to put the record streak of 24 consecutive postseason appearances in jeopardy. The Red Wings look to reclaim their hold on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Detroit kicked off its four-game road trip with a 4-3 setback to Philadelphia, which has a one-point lead for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture and one game in hand. "We can't give away goals," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said after his team allowed 23 first-period shots and fell into a 2-0 hole.. "We've got to make teams earn goals. ... We've got to keep pucks out of net early and, when we get scored on, we can't let the momentum get away from us. We haven't done a good enough job of that." The Blue Jackets have dropped three of their last four games, getting shut out twice, but their lone victory in that span came at the expense of Detroit (5-3) on March 8.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (34-25-11): Forward Anthony Mantha, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2013 draft, made his NHL debut against Philadelphia and acquitted himself well with four shots on goal, including one off the post. "I thought he looked good," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "He's a big body, skates well. He's got a lot of hockey in him. It's going to be fun to see what he can do here down the stretch." Zetterberg, meanwhile, continues to struggle at the offensive end, failing to score in his last 12 games and collecting only two assists in that span.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (28-33-8): Columbus could feature a new look against Detroit with the promotion of three players from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League, including Oliver Bjorkstrand - a third-round pick in 2013. The 20-year-old Bjorkstrand had 15 goals and 10 assists in 46 games with Lake Erie after amassing 113 goals and 114 assists in 128 games over two seasons with Portland of the Western Hockey League. Coach John Tortorella shuffled his lines at Wednesday's practice, moving Boone Jenner to center and shifting Brandon Dubinsky to wing.
OVERTIME
1. Blue Jackets D Jack Johnson will undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder Thursday.
2. Detroit is 2-for-20 on the power play over the past six games.
3. Blue Jacks D Dalton Prout was suspended one game by the NHL for punching Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov on Sunday.