On paper, this seems to be a favorable matchup for the Bruins. Whether they can mark off another ‘w’ against a team in the lower tier of the Eastern Conference standings, however, is anyone’s guess at this point.

Fresh off another embarrassing loss to the Islanders at TD Garden and with a day to recuperate, the Bruins head to Joe Louis Arena for the final time in the regular season when they face a Red Wings team in transition.

Though they are fresh off winning two straight, the Wings sit 14th in the East but trail the Black and Gold by seven points with three games in hand. The last thing they can afford to do is take the Red Wings lightly. Otherwise, they’ll suffer another similar fate after the loss to the Islanders and a dreadful Devils team earlier in the week.

With the urgency reaching its highest point to date and trade rumors and Claude Julien’s job security continuing to heat up, the Bruins need to show some desperation. Otherwise, they may find themselves outside the top three in the Atlantic Division before Friday’s matchup with the Blackhawks.

Gametime: 8:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NBCSN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 23-19-5 (51 points), Red Wings 19-19-6 (44 points)
Location: Joe Louis Arena

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano-David Krejci-David Backes
Tim Schaller-Ryan Spooner-Riley Nash
Austin Czarnik-Dominic Moore-Anton Blidh

Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
John-Michael Liles-Joe Morrow

Tuukka Rask
Zane McIntyre

Red Wings projected lines

Gustav Nyquist-Henrik Zetterberg-Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou-Frans Nielsen-Thomas Vanek
Tomas Tatar-Riley Sheahan-Dylan Larkin
Justin Abdelkader-Luke Glendening-Drew Miller

Dan DeKeyser-Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson-Alexey Marchenko
Xavier Ouellet-Nick Jensen

Jared Coreau
Petr Mrazek

Tonight’s storyline

– This space is often reserved for breaking down x’s and o’s, players on hot or cold streaks and team trends heading into the evening’s contest. Today, we’re going with a little different route. The main storyline here is what type of effort the Bruins will show. Will it be a similar effort that saw success during their four-game road trip? Or will it be a similar effort from their performances like Monday against the Islanders or earlier in the month versus the Devils? The pressure is only going to mount with each day and the last thing they need is another poor performance – especially against a divisional foe – this evening.