Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers (39-17-6, 84 points) and Detroit Red Wings (35-15-11, 81 points) face-off for the third and final time this season live from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
New York has won five of its last six games and eight of 10 overall as it opens up a five-match road trip while Detroit has won two consecutive contests and opens up a two-game home stand.
The Rangers enter play in second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point shy of the New York Islanders for first and three ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Red Wings come into the contest in the third and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, 10 points clear of the Boston Bruins and just three points shy of the second place Tampa Bay Lightning.
These teams have traded wins thus far this season with New York picking up a 4-3 overtime win on Nov. 5 and Detroit countering with a 3-2 triumph on Dec. 6.
This game can be live streamed for free by clicking here.
The Rangers are coming in off of a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday, which saw defenseman Keith Yandle make his Blueshirts debut. Forward James Sheppard may play his first game with the team tonight.
"I would say I like to pass more. I like to make it easier for my teammates," Sheppard said according to Northjersey.com.
Rick Nash has paced New York this season with 59 points and is second in the league with 38 goals while Derick Brassard has a team-high 37 assists and has found the twine 13 times to rank second on the Rangers with 50 points.
The Red Wings enter play off of a 4-3 victory over the Predators on Saturday and will hope for their third straight win after an exciting trade deadline.
"I'm excited about the guys; as long as they're competitive everything will work out fine," coach Mike Babcock told MLive.com
Pavel Datsyuk has led Detroit this season with 51 points off of 22 goals and 29 assists while Henrik Zetterberg, who is expected to return after missing the last four games with a head injury, is second on the Red Wings with 49 points off of 15 tallies and a team-best 34 helpers.
Detroit is set to turn to Jimmy Howard in between the pipes and he is 18-8-9 this season with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage thus far this season.
With Henrik Lundqvist (throat) still injured, New York is set to counter with Cam Talbot in the crease and he is 13-6-3 thus far with a 2.45 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
Two Original Six teams clash when the puck drops on the Rangers and Red Wings live tonight from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
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