Skidding Rangers, Red Wings meet in Detroit

The New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings are doing a fine job improving their draft lottery position. But the momentum toward attaining a high pick will be slowed for one of those teams on Thursday when they face each other in Detroit.

The Rangers (27-28-11, 65 points) have lost their last five games, while the Red Wings (23-33-10, 56) carry an eight-game slide into the matchup. Both occupy the same spot in their respective divisions, with the Rangers entrenched in the seventh spot in the Metropolitan and the Red Wings seventh in the Atlantic.

They're also both coming off one-goal losses on Tuesday. The Rangers were blanked by Dallas 1-0, while the Wings lost in overtime at rival Colorado, 4-3.

According to the latest NHL Draft Lottery Simulator, Detroit has a 38.8 percent chance of getting a top-three selection in the June Entry Draft and a 13.5 percent chance of gaining the top pick. The Rangers have a 19 percent chance of picking in the top three and a 6 percent chance of landing the top prize.

Naturally, the players and coaches would rather be winning games than improving their lottery status.

All but one of New York's losses during its skid have been decided by one goal. The Rangers' inability to score wasted a strong defensive effort against the Stars.

"We've got to put some pucks in the back of the net," defenseman Brady Skjei told NHL.com. "Finish some games. Get some wins."

"Since I've gotten here, four games, they've all been close," said forward Brendan Lemieux, who was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets late last month. "We're getting beat by a goal or just inches right now."

The losing streak matches the Rangers' longest of the season. Theoretically, they are still in the playoff hunt, but it's a pipe dream. New York had dropped 14 points behind the final wild-card berth entering Wednesday's action with 16 games remaining.

"It just wasn't a great effort from our end of it," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "I shouldn't say effort, but I thought, mentally, we were not very purposeful on what we were trying accomplish."

One thing that the Red Wings are trying to accomplish the remainder of the season is to give their young players a long, hard look. They like what they see from Filip Zadina, their top pick (sixth overall) last summer. He scored his first goal in his fourth career game against the Avalanche, a one-timer on a power play.

"What I like is he's looked more and more dangerous every game," coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. "He's real dynamic on the power play. He's looked that way the last few games. But I think five-on-five, he's starting to create more."

The 19-year old Zadina will be returned to the Grand Rapids Griffins prior to the American Hockey League playoffs, but the Wings' front office was eager for him to get NHL experience.

"I thought he was good all night," left winger Thomas Vanek said. "Five-on-five, too. I thought he skated well, he created a lot of chances by himself. Obviously, he's a shooter, so that's why he's in that spot. He got rewarded, so it was good to see, great for him."

--Field Level Media