RED WINGS (25-26-10) at RANGERS (27-30-5) 7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG, FS-D, NHL.TV
Spooner was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on Sunday. The Rangers sent forward Rick Nash to Boston in the trade. The Red Wings will try to build on their 3-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Detroit is seven points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are eight points behind the Blue Jackets.
Players to watch
Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the past 10 games. Spooner had 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 39 games with the Bruins. He's expected to play on the wing.
They said it
"We've had a tough stretch of games where our fate could have went the other way and it didn't. We need wins now, man. We need wins right now." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill "When you're not winning, I think you start questioning a lot of things. Right now you have to be realistic too. There's a lot of guys coming up here from the [American Hockey League] and getting their first looks. … But hopefully we can get a win here and feel good about ourselves." -- Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist
Green's status is unclear, especially since the Red Wings didn't have a morning skate. He's considered day-to-day and could miss his sixth consecutive game. Green, though, also is a pending unrestricted free agent and could be traded before the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Monday at 3 p.m. ET. Blashill said Sunday Green will play if he's healthy. … The Rangers will honor 77-year-old Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle by retiring his No. 19 during a pregame ceremony.
Stat pack
Howard is 6-3-3 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in 12 career games against the Rangers. … The Rangers haven't lost seven in a row in regulation since Dec. 16-29, 2006.
