Red Wings at Blues preview

RED WINGS (26-26-10) at BLUES (34-26-4)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV

The Blues, who were defeated 8-3 at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, last lost seven in a row (0-5-2) from Dec. 26, 2009 to Jan. 7, 2010. They haven't lost eight straight since going 0-8-3 from Nov. 25 to Dec. 17, 2006.
The Blues trail the Anaheim Ducks by two points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
The Red Wings, winners of two straight and 5-3-1 in their past nine games, hope to get over .500 for the first time since Jan. 5. They trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by seven points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past four games.
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past eight games.

They said it

"Obviously they're going to be coming out hard and we know that. They're a good team, they're fighting to get into the playoffs. We know they're going to be coming out hard tonight, especially after last night's game." -- Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser
"What we've had the last little bit has not been good enough, and obviously we're looking at it and making adjustments. We are where we are. It's not going to help us to sit and dwell. We've got to stay up and we have a chance to get back at it tonight, which is a positive for our club. The things that have been missing have to show up tonight." -- Blues left wing Alexander Steen

Red Wings projected lineup

Anthony Mantha -- Henrik Zetterberg -- Gustav Nyquist
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Andreas Athanasiou
Darren Helm -- Frans Nielsen -- Justin Abdelkader
Martin Frk -- Luke Glendening -- David Booth
Danny DeKeyser -- Nick Jensen
Jonathan Ericsson -- Trevor Daley
Niklas Kronwall - Xavier Ouellet
Jimmy Howard
Jared Coreau
Scratched:Luke Witkowski
Injured: Mike Green (neck)

Blues projected lineup

Alexander Steen -- Ivan Barbashev -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Nikita Soshnikov
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Tage Thompson
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo
Vince Dunn -- Colton Parayko
Carl Gunnarsson -- Jordan Schmaltz
Carter Hutton
Jake Allen
Scratched:Patrik Berglund, Oskar Sundqvist
Injured:Joel Edmundson (forearm), Robert Bortuzzo (knee)

Status report

Green skated but coach Jeff Blashill said he will not play. He could return at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. ... Edmundson and Bortuzzo, both on injured reserve, were part of a limited group that skated for the Blues in the morning. ... Berglund is a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

Stat pack

Zetterberg has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past 11 games. ... The Blues have been outscored 29-10 during their seven-game skid.