Rangers at Red Wings preview

RANGERS (7-7-1) at RED WINGS (5-8-2)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, MSG, NHL.TV

The forward, who is third on the team with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 15 games, did not make the trip to Detroit because of a groin injury.
New York has outscored opponents 15-9 during its four-game winning streak.
Goalie Jimmy Howard will start for the Red Wings, who have won four of their past five, including a 3-2 shootout victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Rangers center Kevin Hayes had three assists in a 5-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Detroit center Dylan Larkin has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"I really liked his first game. He had a couple penalties, and we'll need to clean that up a bit, but I liked his pace. He plays with a bit of an edge, he competes hard and he's got good skill." -- Rangers coach David Quinn on rookie forward Lias Andersson
"Everyone knows I grew up in New York, the Rangers were my team and Mike Richter was my idol. I'm always fired up to play them, and it seems like Henrik and I always bring out the best in each other." -- Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard

Rangers projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Chris Kreider -- Kevin Hayes -- Ryan Spooner
Jimmy Vesey -- Brett Howden -- Jesper Fast
Lias Andersson -- Filip Chytil -- Vinni Lettieri
Brady Skjei -- Tony DeAngelo
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Brendan Smith -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched:Cody McLeod
Injured: Fredrik Claesson (upper body), Adam McQuaid (lower body), Mats Zuccarello (groin)

Red Wings projected lineup

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

Status report

The Rangers did not hold a morning skate. … Zuccarello also will not play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. … Howden returns after missing one game because of injury. ... Athanasiou and Nielsen each practiced Tuesday and are expected to be in the lineup.

Stat pack

The Rangers haven't won five straight since a six-game winning streak from Oct. 31-Nov. 11, 2017. … Lundqvist is one win from of tying Jacques Plante (437) for seventh in NHL history. … Nyquist has six points (one goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak.... Howard has a 1.74 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage in 13 games against the Rangers; Lundqvist has a 1.96 GAA and .937 save percentage in 15 games against the Red Wings.