Neither the Detroit Red Wings nor the Ottawa Senators are winding down the regular season in particularly strong form.
The difference between the two clubs is one has a playoff cushion to work with while the other's margin for error is closing.
The Senators are the more desperate team, and will try to halt a three-game skid Tuesday night in Detroit while also closing the gap with Boston for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot (7 p.m. pregame, 7:30 face-off on FOX Sports Detroit).
Ottawa's 0-2-1 span has coincided with an injury to goaltender Andrew Hammond, who had been 14-0-1 with a 1.58 goals-against average as a starter prior to allowing five goals on 22 shots in Thursday's 5-1 home loss to the New York Rangers. Hammond was pulled in the second period, and it was revealed he wasn't 100 percent after a collision in a March 23 win over San Jose. The rookie missed the two games following the loss to the Rangers.
Ottawa has surrendered 13 goals in the last three with Hammond either out or less than full strength, including a 4-2 home loss to Florida on Sunday. Craig Anderson faced the Panthers and also suffered a 4-3 overtime loss in Toronto on Saturday.
The Senators (37-26-12) are three points back of the Bruins but have a game in hand, while Detroit (40-23-12) is three points ahead of Boston and like Ottawa has seven games remaining.
"If you panic, things don't usually go your way," said Hammond, who practiced Monday.
Hammond isn't the Senators' only goalie at less than 100 percent. Anderson is still dealing with a hand injury and has allowed at least three goals in each game during a 2-3-2 span.
The Senators are also concerned with scoring struggles that have limited them to six goals in three games.
"It's never easy but we need to find a way," Mika Zibanejad said.
Detroit has had no such scoring concerns with four goals in four straight games. The problem is four hasn't been enough, with the Red Wings falling to 1-2-1 in that stretch after Sunday's 5-4 road loss to the New York Islanders.
They led 2-0 just 1:46 into the game before goaltending became an issue once again. Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on 11 shots and was replaced by Jimmy Howard seconds into the second period. Howard had also struggled with a 2-4-1 record and 3.70 GAA in his previous nine games, but he stopped 16 of 17 shots against the Islanders and said he's tracking the puck better.
"I felt better. I focused on the puck, nothing else," Howard told the team's official website. "Didn't matter if there were guys in front of me, I was just finding them. That's why I've had success in the past and what I need to do now in the future."
Detroit follows the meeting against Ottawa with Boston's visit to Joe Louis Arena on Thursday, and Henrik Zetterberg said despite the favorable position, the Red Wings are approaching things the same as they did the past two seasons when they had to squeak into the postseason.
"It's playoff games," said Zetterberg, who has surprisingly gone without a point in the last three games as the offense clicks. "We did that last year, we did that two years ago. We had those games to win our way into the postseason. It's nothing different this year. ... Now we've got a chance to do it a little earlier."
Detroit has won two of three in the season series behind two goals and two assists from Zetterberg.
