Red Wings at Maple Leafs
With a difficult schedule remaining as they try to keep alive the NHL's longest active postseason streak, the Detroit Red Wings face what is shaping up as a must win when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Detroit trails third-place Boston by one point in the Atlantic Division with four games to play.
The Red Wings, who are seeking their 25th consecutive trip to the playoffs, also are even in points with Philadelphia for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers, however, have two games in hand and will visit Motown on Wednesday before Detroit finishes the season with road games at Boston and the New York Rangers. The Red Wings have limited Toronto to two goals in winning two of their three meetings this season, but they came out on the short end of a 1-0 decision at home on March 13. Following a hot stretch during which they captured five of six, the Maple Leafs have won just once in their last four games and scored a total of two goals in the three losses.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FSN Detroit Plus, CBC, CITY (Toronto)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (39-28-11): Jimmy Howard got the nod in net over the slumping Petr Mrazek and made 20 saves in Friday's 3-2 victory over the Minnesota, but coach Jeff Blashill declined to name a starter for Saturday's matchup. Riley Sheahan continued his late-season hot streak by scoring once and setting up another tally to give him four goals and two assists over his last five games. Rookie Dylan Larkin boosted his team-leading goal total to 23 by converting on Detroit's white-hot power play.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (28-38-11): Jonathan Bernier got off to a dreadful start this season, failing to win in his first 11 appearances, and struggled again during a three-start losing streak from Feb. 27-March 5 by giving up 10 goals. Bernier seems to have figured out things over his last six outings, posting a 4-2-0 record and .952 save percentage. "Obviously, he's played at a high level this last while," coach Mike Babcock said. "He knows that. We know that. (He) feels good about himself, practices like that and that helps your team win."
OVERTIME
1. The Red Wings are 10-for-22 on the power play over their last seven games.
2. Bernier is 5-3-2 with a 2.33 goals-against average versus Detroit.
3. Larkin has 45 points, good for 12th place on Detroit's all-time rookie scoring list.