Up next: Montreal Canadiens

DETROIT- When the Montreal Canadiens (28-39-13, 69 points) take on the Red Wings (30-38-12, 72 points) Thursday night (7:30 p.m. face-off) at Little Caesars Arena, it will be a battle of non-playoff teams playing for the pride of their uniforms.
Detroit and Montreal are two of the most iconic teams in NHL history, with the Canadiens claiming the most Stanley Cup championships with 24 and the Red Wings with 11 Stanley Cups, the most of any American-based franchise.

While the Wings are in the process of retooling their roster through the NHL draft, the Canadiens believe they could have competed for a playoff spot if it weren't for an injury-riddled season.
Heading into Tuesday's night game against Winnipeg in Montreal, the Canadiens stood at 356 man-games lost due to injury.
Currently, they have seven players on injured reserve (IR), including captain and former Michigan standout Max Pacioretty (17 goals, 20 assists, minus-16), forwards Phillip Danault (eight goals, 17 assists, even), Andrew Shaw (10 goals, 10 assists, minus-8), and Ales Hemsky, who was pointless in the seven games he appeared in before he was sidelined for the season with concussion-like symptoms.
A former Norris Trophy winner, defenseman Shea Weber (six goals, 10 assists, minus-8), has been on IR since mid-December with a foot ailment and has missed 47 games and counting.
For the last several seasons the fortunes of the Montreal Canadiens rested upon the goaltending exploits of all-world goalie Carey Price.
Considered to be the one of the finest goalies of his generation, Price reached the apex of his career during the 2014-15 season.
In 66 starts, Price posted a 44-16-6 record with a 1.96 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and nine shutouts. He was awarded the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP), Vezina Trophy (top goalie), Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against) and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player, selected by the NHLPA.
Since his scintillating 2014-15 season, Price has struggled to stay healthy.
This year he's missed 23 total games because of a lower-body injury (10 games) and a concussion (13 games) and it seems the injuries may have caught up to Price.
He's posted a 16-25-7 record, with a 3.09 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and one shutout.
Antti Niemi, who was claimed off waivers from Florida on November 14, is the Canadiens backup. He's 6-5-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and one shutout.
Price was in net Tuesday when the Canadiens were defeated by the Jets, 5-4, in overtime. Though the outcome was disappointing, it will be a game Price will always remember.
It was his 557th game as a Canadien, surpassing the legendary Jacques Plante for the most games played by a Montreal goaltender. During the first period, a video tribute was played to honor Price, who received a lengthy ovation from the crowd.
"Nobody enjoys losing, it wasn't a lot of fun this year, but it's nice knowing we have the support," Price told the Associated Press after the game. "It's tough when things aren't going good, but there's no better place when things are going well and that's just a taste of it."
Montreal's forward corps is led by Brendan Gallagher, who leads the team in goals (30) and points (52); he's minus-12 and is averaging 16:02 of ice time per game.
Left wing Alex Galchenyuk has 19 goals and his 32 assists lead the Canadiens. He's minus-31 and his ice time average is 16:08 a game.
Center Jonathan Drouin has 13 goals among his 44 points and is minus-28. His ice time average of 17:33 is tops among the forwards. Left wing Paul Byron (20 goals, 15 assists, minus-4) and rookie winger Charles Hudon (10 goals, 20 assists, minus-10) round out the top offensive threats for the Canadiens.
A Grosse Pointe. Mich. native, forward Michael McCarron (Montreal's first-round pick, 25th overall in the 2013 Draft), was called up in March. In 16 games, he is pointless and minus-3 with 28 penalty minutes.
This is a crucial audition for the 6-foot-6, 230-pound McCarron, who will become a restricted free agent this summer.
On defense, Ann Arbor-born and former Michigan State Spartan Jeff Petry leads Montreal's back end in goals (11), assists (30) and points (41). He's minus-30 and his ice time average of 23:30 per game is tops on the team.
Veteran blueliners Jordie Benn (four goals, 11 assists, minus-2, 18:56 average ice time), Karl Alzner (one goal, 10 assists, minus-6, 20:06 average ice time) David Schlemko (one goal, four assists, plus-3, 17:58 average ice time) and youngster Noah Juulsen (one goal, one assists, plus-1, with an average ice time of 19:34), have held together a defensive corps ravaged by injuries.
Thursday will be the fourth and final meeting between the Wings and Canadiens. Montreal has won the previous three games. On November 30, the Canadiens defeated the Wings, 6-3, at Little Caesars Arena with Galchenyuk netting the game-winner.
The Canadiens slaughtered the Red Wings, 10-1, on December 2 in Montreal and on March 26, the Wings fell, 4-2, at the Bell Centre with Gallagher scoring the game-winning goal.
Montreal has not been a good road team this season. The Canadiens have a dismal road record of 10-25-4.
Detroit and Montreal have met 588 times with the Canadiens leading the series edge, 281-207-96-4, but the Red Wings hold a 136-102-53-2 advantage in games played in Detroit.