PREVIEW: Both in thick of Eastern Conference Wild-Card race, Red Wings host Senators on Thursday

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings will kick off an important two-game homestand against Atlantic Division opponents, first hosting the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Puck drop between Detroit (33-32-6; 72 points) and Ottawa (37-28-5; 79 points) is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit). The Red Wings won the second game of the season series, a 3-2 overtime decision at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 7, but dropped the first (Dec. 5) and third (March 10) contests both by 2-1 scores at Canadian Tire Centre.

“We play each other a lot every year,” Lucas Raymond said. “These games are always good, with high intensity and a lot of emotions. Nothing changes for tonight, even with where [both teams] are at in the standings…It’s going to be a fun game.”

Detroit went 1-3-0 on its most recent two-part road trip, which concluded with a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. According to J.T. Compher, who scored his eighth goal of the season on Tuesday, the Red Wings were tested out West and returned home on Wednesday feeling unsatisfied.

“We were able to get the two points in Utah, but we know how important every game is,” Compher said. “We need to be ready to go coming back home tonight.”

Detroit has just 11 regular-season games remaining, and as the Stanley Cup Playoffs picture begins to take shape, there’s still a lot to be determined over the next few weeks.

That’s especially true when looking at the battle for the two Wild-Card spots in the Eastern Conference, which remains as competitive as ever.

Entering Thursday, Detroit trailed the Montreal Canadiens, who had a game in hand, by three points for the second Wild-Card spot. As for the Senators, who had also played one fewer game than the Red Wings, they were four points in front of the Canadiens for the first Wild-Card spot.

As close as the Wild-Card race is, head coach Todd McLellan said for his players, it’s about taking care of the task at hand.

“We’ve been trying to do that, almost from Day 1 here, where we want to focus on what’s in front of us and deal with that,” McLellan said. “Put a good effort in, adjust, fix things and then move on. I don’t think that changes at all down the stretch here. We start looking at schedule, games, point differential and all that stuff, it’s not going to do us any good.”

Thursday’s clash marks the finale of a three-game road trip for Ottawa, which is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Captain Brady Tkachuk scored on the power play in Buffalo, bringing his club-leading goal total to 29 on the campaign. Three players (Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Josh Norris) are tied for second on the club in goals with 20 apiece, while Stutzle has collected the most points (70).

This season, goaltender Linus Ullmark owns a 19-13-3 record with a 2.78 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and three shutouts.

“They’ve played with some confidence since [March 10], or prior to [that game],” McLellan said about the Senators. “Their goaltending has been really elite in the last few weeks. Ullmark has given them a chance to play through some patches in games where they haven’t played real well or it got a little ugly for a few shifts. He’s been able to bail them out. To beat that team, I think you have to get rewarded during those minutes, and we didn’t in Ottawa. We’re going to have to find a way, if we do get some momentum going, to beat what was a real good goaltending night.”