Blackhawks at Red Wings preview

BLACKHAWKS (25-26-9) at RED WINGS (23-29-8)
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Kane has 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) during his 18-game streak. He also has assists in a Blackhawks-record 17 straight games. Only Wayne Gretzky (23 games in 1990-91) and Adam Oates (18 games in 1992-93) have had longer assist streaks in NHL history.
The Blackhawks are 9-2-0 in their past 11 games and in a four-way tie in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point behind the Minnesota Wild,
Detroit has lost back-to-back games and is 2-4-1 in its past seven. The Red Wings are 15 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card from the East.

Players to watch

Chicago forward Alex DeBrincat has 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in his past 12 games, including an NHL career best five points (three goals, two assists) in an 8-7 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
Detroit center Dylan Larkin has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games.

They said it

"We think we've got a good chance of getting in because we believe we've got a lot more to give. The positives in the way we are playing are obvious, but there are also places where we can still improve." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton on Chicago's playoff chances
"He's probably one of the best puck-handlers of all time, and he's got a totally unbelievably offensive mind. Those are things I think most people know, but being around him and seeing his competitive fire and leadership was really incredible." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who coached Chicago's Patrick Kane at the IIHF World Championship

Blackhawks projected lineup

Drake Caggiula -- Jonathan Toews -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad -- Artem Anisimov -- Dylan Sikura
John Hayden -- Marcus Kruger -- Brendan Perlini
Duncan Keith -- Connor Murphy
Slater Koekkoek -- Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling -- Carl Dahlstrom
Cam Ward
Collin Delia
Scratched:Chris Kunitz
Injured:Brent Seabrook (abdominal strain), Corey Crawford (concussion), David Kampf (right foot)

Red Wings projected lineup

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Gustav Nyquist
Thomas Vanek -- Frans Nielsen -- Anthony Mantha
Darren Helm -- Luke Glendening -- Andreas Athanasiou
Justin Abdelkader -- Michael Rasmussen -- Jacob de la Rose
Niklas Kronwall -- Mike Green
Danny DeKeyser -- Nick Jensen
Filip Hronek
-- Trevor Daley
Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched: Luke Witkowski, Jonathan Ericsson, Christoffer Ehn
Injured:Evgeny Svechnikov (knee surgery)

Status report

Perlini sat out the morning skate because of illness and will be a game-time decision. ... Crawford skated with the Blackhawks. … Svechnikov took part in Detroit's optional morning skate.

Stat pack

Toews has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in his past 11 games. ... Kruger will be playing in his 500th NHL game. … Bertuzzi has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games.