With deadline deals done completed, the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings are ready to make their final pushes for playoff positioning.
Mats Zuccarello's play down the stretch also could be pivotal in the Metropolitan Division title chase for New York, which seeks a 10th win in 12 games Wednesday night when it visits Detroit.
The Rangers (39-17-6), battling the Islanders and Pittsburgh for the division lead, continue to play some of the best hockey in the NHL, averaging 3.9 goals during a 9-1-1 stretch. Derick Brassard has 11 assists in that span while Rick Nash has five goals and five assists despite missing a game.
Brassard had two assists while Nash scored his 38th goal in Monday's 4-1 victory over league-leading Nashville, winning in All-Star defenseman Keith Yandle's debut after he was acquired Sunday from Arizona.
Coach Alain Vigneault may have been most pleased by Zuccarello having two assists hours after he agreed to a four-year, $18 million extension.
Zuccarello, who had a team-high 59 points in his breakout 2013-14 campaign, has been inconsistent this season with 37 points through 60 games. He had four goals and five assists during a seven-game point streak Jan. 31-Feb. 12 but had only three points in the next eight games before recording a pair Monday. Additionally, he had just 10 points during New York's 11-9-3 start.
The Rangers are 22-4-3 when he tallies at least one point.
"He was a real good player," Vigneault said of his performance Sunday. "I don't know if the fact that he just signed his big deal made him do that, but we need him to be on top of his game.
"Hopefully his mind is clear, and we're going to see Mats on a regular basis."
The Red Wings (35-15-11) are six points back of first-place Montreal in the Atlantic and also trail Tampa Bay. They acquired left wing Erik Cole from Dallas on Sunday in exchange for minor leaguers Mattias Janmark and Mattias Backman and a second-round pick. They also sent a conditional pick to New Jersey for defenseman Marek Zidlicky on Monday.
Cole has 18 goals and 15 assists in 57 games. Zidlicky was second on the Devils with 75 blocked shots.
"We're right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference, and if we could add a piece or two, leading up to the deadline, to make us a little deeper, a little better-prepared for a playoff series, at a price that we could live with, we wanted to do it," general manager Ken Holland said.
Zidlicky in particular could boost what is already the NHL's best power play, converting 25.0 percent of its opportunities. Twelve of his 23 points this season have come on the man advantage.
Cole, meanwhile, is riding a hot stretch with five goals and four assists over his last 10 games.
The Red Wings also knocked off the Predators their last time out, 4-3 on Saturday to conclude a 4-1-1 trip. Four of their next five games are at home.
Henrik Zetterberg, second on Detroit with 49 points, could be back on the ice after missing four games since taking a shot to the head in a Feb. 21 win over the Stars.
The Rangers had won five straight in the series, including a 4-3 home victory in overtime Nov. 5, prior to a 3-2 loss in Detroit on Dec. 6. The Red Wings are 7-0-1 in the last eight home meetings.
