Coach Jeff Blashill has used recent games to gauge his team's growth, and his Detroit Red Wings have often stood tall.
They'll try to push their point streak to five Wednesday night (7 p.m. pregame, 7:30 faceoff on FOX Sports Detroit) when they face an opponent they've often come up short against lately, the streaking Boston Bruins.
Detroit (11-8-2) has gone 3-0-1 in its last four with all of the games decided by one goal. In the latest Saturday, the Red Wings shook off a late equalizer from St. Louis and won 4-3 in overtime.
Teemu Pulkkinen goal in the extra period gave Detroit a road victory over one of the Western Conference's top teams, and he assisted on Pavel Datsyuk's first tally since his return from ankle surgery.
"We played some really good hockey teams," Blashill said. "We want to measure ourselves against what we think are some of the best teams in the league and see how we stack up. ... This is obviously a real good hockey team and on the road it's an impressive win for us."
With its healthier lineup, Detroit has scored at least three goals in three of its last four games after reaching that mark twice in the previous 13. Rookie forward Dylan Larkin has led the way with a four-game goal streak.
Justin Abdelkader scored on the power play in the third period of a 3-1 loss at Boston on Nov. 14.
Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins' first goal in that contest, part of his eight-game point streak in which he's registered three goals and six assists. Bergeron assisted on the opening goal in Toronto on Monday, Brad Marchand's short-hander, in a 4-3 shootout victory.
Marchand followed with his fifth goal in four games in the second period as Boston (11-8-1) won its third straight while improving to 7-2-0 on the road.
"It really didn't matter how you win as long as you get the win, and they're not all going to be pretty," Marchand told the team's official website. "We've got to learn to win games like this, and we did that tonight, so we have to be happy."
Boston can tie its longest win streak of the season by earning a sixth consecutive victory over the Red Wings. The Bruins have taken nine of 10 meetings, including postseason, and four of five at Detroit.
Boston has killed off all 10 power plays in the past three games - six against the Maple Leafs. Prior to that stretch, the Bruins had been allowing a league-worst 29.2 percent conversion rate.
Bergeron has recorded three goals and six assists in his past nine matchups with Detroit, including postseason.
The Red Wings will face former teammate Landon Ferraro for the first time. The forward registered his first point of the season - an assist - in his Bruins debut Monday, one day after being claimed off waivers from Detroit.
The Wings are opening a season-high six-game homestand.
