The focus is all on Tampa Bay when they host Detroit on Thursday night. Currently three points shy of the second wild card position, the Lightning have reached a desperate stretch where they need to pile up some wins. As for the Red Wings, they're simply playing spoiler at this point. They were knocked out of playoff contention earlier this week, snapping 25 straight years of making it to the postseason. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM Eastern time and this matchup can be seen on FSN Detroit and FSN Sun.
Red Wings (31-33-12, 74 points, 8th Atlantic)
Detroit's actually been playing better as of late, winning five of their last eight games and finally losing by more than one goal last Tuesday in a rematch against Carolina. Unfortunately, it's simply too little, too late for them. They'll finish up the strange road trip in Tampa Bay and then will host Toronto and Ottawa.
Center Andreas Athanasiou (29 pts) didn't play in the previous matchup for the Red Wings and is out again for tonight's contest with an upper body injury. Luke Glendenig (14 pts) fractured his ankle against the Hurricanes on March 27th and will be out for the rest of the season. Left wing Henrik Zetterberg (63 pts) scored a goal last time out against the Lightning, which was also his most recent time getting the puck in the net.
Lightning (37-29-9, 83 points, 5th Atlantic)
Tampa Bay equaled out their recent three-game losing skid by winning their last three games. They've put up 13 goals in the victory stretch and hopes to keep that going on their current homestand. One of those wins in the latest stretch was a key 6-3 beating of Boston. They'll take on the division leaders later this weekend.
Center Tyler Johnson (44 pts) remains out for the Lightning. He's struggling to get back on the ice with a knee injury and has missed action since March 9th against Minnesota. Right wing Nikita Kucherov (80 pts) recorded a goal and assisted last time out against the Red Wings. He's tallied up 11 points in his last five games.
Tampa Bay is a heavy -220 favorite at home. They have won their last six meetings against Detroit.
