Red Wings vs. Bruins: Notes, Lines, Goalies, How to Watch

It seems a little weird to say this about a team that has done its best to punt away the season this month, but the Red Wings might be playing to avoid a trap tonight when they take on Boston.

Why? The Bruins, who won 65 games two years ago, gave up on this season at the trade deadline and have since lost seven in a row.

This has put the hibernating Bruins in a bad mood, but Jeremy Swayman’s attempt to stir things up was thwarted by the refs. It proves once again that when things go bad, they can be really bad.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, still have a shot at the playoffs, despite their struggles. With 10 games left they’re still three points out of a playoff spot because the teams ahead of them appear to be gassed as well.

The Canadiens, Rangers and Islanders, the three teams ahead of the Wings in the playoff chase, are all struggling down the stretch. Of the four teams, only the Islanders have won four of their last 10 contests.

All the Red Wings need is a little hot streak at the finish. It has to start  with the hapless Bruins, because the rest of the schedule is populated with teams in playoff positions in hand or close to it.

“Our inability to win and everybody else around us losing, yeah, it keeps us right where we are, but the clock is ticking,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said after Thursday’s loss. “So that’s what ends up happening. You run out of time unless you take advantage of somebody else’s mistakes, and we haven’t been able to do that over the last little bit.”

The Matchup

Who: Red Wings vs. Bruins

Where: Little Caesars Arena

When: 8 p.m.

TV.Radio: ABC/950 AM

Detroit Projected Lines

DeBrincat – Larkin – Kane

Rasmussen – Kasper – Raymond

Berggren – Compher – Tarasenko

Watson  -Motte – Smith/Shine

Defensive Pairings

Chiarot–Seider

Edvinsson–Petry

Johansson-Holl

Goalie

Talbot

Lyon

Boston Projected Lines

Khusnutdinov – Mittelstadt – Pastrnak

Geekie – Zacha – Lysell

Koepke – E. Lindholm – Lettieri

Lauko – Beecher – Brown

Defensive Pairings

Wotherspoon-Jokiharju

Lohrei-Peeke

Callahan-Mitchell

Goalies

Swayman

Korpisalo