PREVIEW: Seeking fifth consecutive victory, Red Wings entertain Senators on Tuesday 

DETROIT – An exciting Atlantic Division matchup will kick off a four-game homestand for the Detroit Red Wings, who can extend their season-high winning streak to five straight contests when they host the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.

Just two points separate Detroit (17-18-4; 38 points) and Ottawa (19-17-2; 40 points) in the Atlantic Division standings heading into Tuesday’s 7 p.m. puck drop, which will be broadcasted on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

“We’ve kind of worked ourselves back into a position where we’re playing meaningful games, but that just shows how tight it is,” Patrick Kane said. “Things can change overnight. Things can change day to day. That’s why every game is so important from here on out.”

The Red Wings want to defend home ice after taking care of business on their recent two-game road trip, which featured a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets last Thursday and a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

“I think we’ve made some changes to our game that will help us no matter what time frame we’re in with [head coach Todd McLellan],” Kane said. “You got to take advantage of it, right? These are exciting times and changes to our game to help us play a little bit more aggressive and be on our toes. I think everyone wants to play like that, so I think we’re all getting more confident by the day.”

Kane is currently enjoying a four-game point streak after he recorded two assists against the Jets, which marked his second consecutive multi-point game and seventh multi-point performance of the season.

In his last 10 games, Kane has notched 11 points (five goals, six assists).

“I think I could kind of feel it coming, even when I was struggling a little bit,” Kane said about his recent production. “I could kind of feel chances starting to come and create a little bit more. I felt a little bit unlucky at the start of the year, but at the same time you’re still not playing as well as you should have.”

Fifth in the Atlantic Division, the Senators have gone 4-4-0 on their current nine-game road trip and are coming off a 4-0 shutout loss to the St. Louis Blues last Friday. Leading Ottawa in scoring with 40 points (12 goals, 28 points) is Tim Stutzle, who is just three points ahead of captain Brady Tkachuk (37 points) and four in front of Drake Batherson (36 points).

Netminder Linus Ullmark is week-to-week with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since Dec. 22 for the Senators, who have since divided the starting duties between goalies Leevi Merilainen, Anton Forsberg and Mads Sogaard.

Detroit and Ottawa most recently met on Dec. 5, when the Red Wings fell short on the road, 2-1.

“They’re obviously a great team,” McLellan said about the Senators. “They’ve turned the corner, in my opinion. [Head coach Travis Green] has done a really good job. The test will be to play against them, but more importantly, it’ll be how do we respond to some, not adversity, some feel good time now?

“Are we prepared to build on it? Are we prepared to just sit on it? Are we going to give it back? One of those three things is going to happen, and I’d like to think the built part will show up. But until we take the test, we don’t know.”