MONTREAL – The Detroit Red Wings are inching closer to securing a record 24th consecutive playoff berth but face a rugged test when they visit the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
A victory in either of Detroit's final two games or a regulation defeat by the Ottawa Senators will extend the longest playoff streak among any of the four major North American sports.
"The bottom line for us is we're in control of our situation," coach Mike Babcock said.
Detroit edged Carolina 3-2 on Tuesday in its final regular-season home game and notched only its sixth victory in 18 games (6-10-2) to move into position for the clincher. The Canadiens halted a three-game skid with a 4-1 victory at Florida on Sunday and hold a two-point edge over Tampa Bay atop the division with two games to play.
Leading scorer Max Pacioretty will sit out the rest of the regular season for Montreal, which has won five straight against the Red Wings, including all three meetings this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (42-25-13):
Captain Henrik Zetterberg was reunited on a line with Pavel Datsyuk on Tuesday and responded with a goal and an assist after tallying once in the previous 27 games.
"I was obviously excited to be back with Pavel," Zetterberg said. "It's been a while. It's good when we get an opportunity to play together to produce."
Detroit received some bad news when it was revealed that trade-deadline acquisition Erik Cole will miss the remainder of the season with a spinal cord contusion, an injury that threatens the forward's career.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (48-22-10):
Max Pacioretty, who leads Montreal in goals (37) and points (67), will miss the final two regular-season games and be re-evaluated next week after he hit his head on the boards Sunday following a check by Florida's Dmitry Kulikov.
"We know exactly what he has and we have to protect the player," said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, who is unsure if Pacioretty will be ready for the start of the postseason. "It's a heavy loss, we won't hide that." Alex Galchenyuk practiced on the top line alongside Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher.
NOTES:
1. Red Wings G Jimmy Howard is 3-4-1 with a 2.84 goals-against average versus Montreal.
2. Canadiens G Carey Price, who owns a league-high 42 wins, has yielded one goal in two starts against the Red Wings this season.
3. Detroit is 4-of-13 on the power play over the past four games while Montreal had converted with the extra skater in five straight games.