Red Wings at Bruins
While the Detroit Red Wings have all but faded out of the playoff picture, the Boston Bruins are hanging on to third place in the Atlantic Division by a thread. Boston looks to strengthen its hold on the spot when it hosts Original Six-rival Detroit on Wednesday in search of its sixth win in seven home games.
The Bruins are coming off Monday's 4-2 loss at Ottawa, which increased the Senators lead for second place in the Atlantic to four points, and saw their advantage for third in the division shrink to two points Tuesday as Toronto edged visiting Detroit 3-2. The Red Wings allowed the game's first three goals before Gustav Nyquist scored twice in a span of 74 seconds bridging the second and third periods, but the rally fell short and the club dropped to 1-2-1 on its five-game road trip — and 11 points behind the Maple Leafs for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Nyquist's two-goal performance was his second of the season and ended his 12-game drought that began after the 27-year-old Swede tallied in a 6-5 shootout win over the Bruins at home Jan. 18. Boston's Brad Marchand, who is fourth in the league in scoring with 68 points — six behind leader Connor McDavid of Edmonton entering Tuesday, has tallied in five of his last six games to reach the 30-goal plateau for the second straight season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (25-28-11): Nyquist nearly missed the game against Toronto as he had been battling a stomach bug that kept him out of practice Monday. "(I feel) much better today," he told the team's website after Tuesday's morning skate. "A lot more energy. It's nice to feel a little normal again." Captain Henrik Zetterberg helped set up both goals Tuesday, increasing his team-leading totals to 39 assists and 53 points, for his fifth two-point performance during his seven-game point streak.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (34-26-6): Boston will be without Ryan Spooner indefinitely as the 25-year-old center was diagnosed with a concussion, which he suffered in his native Ottawa on Monday. Spooner ranks sixth on the team in scoring with 34 points in 65 games. Dominic Moore, who has scored just once in his last 32 games, is one goal away from reaching double digits for the fifth time in his career and two shy of 100 in the NHL.
OVERTIME
1. Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall's next assist will be the 300th of his career.
2. Boston recalled C Austin Czarnik, who recorded five goals and eight assists in 47 games earlier this season, from Providence of the American Hockey League.
3. Detroit D Robbie Russo made his NHL debut on Tuesday, recording one hit and a blocked shot in 15 minutes, 44 seconds of ice time.