March is here and the season is officially in the final quarter. 15 games remain for the Red Wings who need to reach the offseason faster than anybody. The losses keep piling up and so are the injuries. Adam Erne is the latest victim of the injury bug and his absence for tonight creates a bit of a pinch with the Avalanche in town.

Colorado is red hot making their one and only visit to Motown, winning six straight and 10 of the last 14. With 38 wins on the season they sit comfortably in second place of the Central Division. At the very least, they are only four points up on the Dallas Stars. Playing for home ice in the first round of the playoffs, Detroit has another opportunity to play spoiler.

As mentioned before, Erne is slated to miss significant time with a broken hand. That opens up a slot for Brendan Perlini to sub in after sitting in Ottawa on Saturday. Dmytro Timashov is also expected to play, despite dealing with visa issues. Creating the de facto fourth line of Christoffer Ehn in the middle flanked by the former two.

In net, one has to expect Jonathan Bernier gets the nod. Bernier was sensational in Ottawa, as he has been for the majority of the season. Jimmy Howard’s struggles also make him the easy bet to backstop the team tonight.

Even with a plethora of injuries to key players, the Avs have coasted through the second half thanks to excellent depth. Star winger Mikko Rantanen and starting goaltender Philip Grubauer are missing in action. In their replacement, Pavel Francouz was named the NHL’s second star of the week for the end of February and Martin Kaut scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday.

Not to mention Valeri Nichushkin has had an incredible bounce back season. The Russian winger has quietly been one of the league’s best defensive forwards.

Sam Gagner and Timashov both drew into the lineup on Saturday. Gagner scored a clutch, game-tying goal on the power play in the third period for his first as a Red Wing. His right-hand shot has been a key addition to the top-unit. He played on both the left wall and the slot, with the latter being his scoring area in Ottawa.

Timashov made some noticeable plays early as well. He only played 11 minutes, however, with no time on either special teams. As he settles in to his new role, expect to see Jeff Blashill ease him onto the penalty-kill. His quick feet make him a danger as a short-handed threat.

Times have been tough for all involved, including Dylan Larkin. During Thursday’s 7-1 blowout loss to the Wild Larkin was visibly upset on the bench, revealing just how much a 15-win season can weigh on a player emotionally.

Amid the losing, Larkin is doing all he can for the team. He has eight points in the past six games and is running away with the team scoring lead. His 18 goals are tied for first, while his 30 assists and 48 points rank in sole possession of the top spot. As Steve Yzerman said in his post trade deadline press conference: “Part of life is struggling and the guys who really benefit from it are the guys that are mentally tough enough to get through it.” The future can only get better and Larkin will be the leader through it all.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar is giving Francouz some rest and starting backup goaltender Michael Hutchinson. The Red Wings typically face the second stringer for most teams but Hutchinson is especially a lesser option. The 30-year-old owns a .886 save percentage in 11 starts and was shipped out of Toronto because of it.

Detroit will have to take advantage of Hutchinson in net. Colorado’s offense is too explosive to keep this a low scoring affair. A few bounces go Detroit’s way and this game could stay close up until the final buzzer.