In their final game of the season, the Red Wings will host the New York Islanders at Little Caesar’s Arena. In it’s inaugural season, the Red Wings new home has faced a lot of hardship as the team endured three five game losing streaks (including one that spanned ten games). With their elimination from playoff contention for the second straight season, the team is finally admitting the need to rebuild.

The Islanders are also a team with an uncertain future. With captain John Tavares’ contract up on June 30th, the former 1st overall pick may decide to part ways with the organization that drafted him. This could be the last time the Red Wings face Tavares in an Islanders jersey.

Now, on to the tanking scenarios. If the Wings lose tonight and the Habs and Coyotes win, then Detroit will fall to 29th overall, giving them the third best draft lottery odds at 11.5% chance of getting the 1st overall pick and 33.3% chance of drafting top-3. Their roster certainly reflects their place in the standings.

This team has certainly gotten worse since returning Evgeny Svechnikov and Joe Hicketts to Grand Rapids, but I suspect tonight will be the last time we see a few of these names on this roster. David Booth‘s contract is up after tonight and I doubt the Wings bring him back. It’s been reported that Xavier Ouellet and Nick Jensen could be moved this offseason to make room for young talent currently with the Griffins.

Tyler Bertuzzi has done well for himself this year, earning a spot on the top line. Since he’s been playing on Henrik Zetterberg‘s wing more consistently, the youngster has gone on a bit of a tear. He’s scored five times and added an assist in his last seven games.

On the second line, Dylan Larkin has also been on a tear, scoring four goals and nine points in the last seven games. Having transitioned to center this year, Larkin leads the team in points and has just recently cracked the 60 point milestone. He’s been the brightest spot on the Red Wings roster this year.

I don’t really feel like addressing the blueline because it’s so ugly. Hopefully, with an injection of some youth next year, the picture gets a little brighter.

With a top-9 like this, it’s hard to imagine that the Islanders are not a playoff team. Tavares is one of the best players in the league and Matthew Barzal is probably going to win the Calder Trophy. Andrew Ladd is a bit of an eye sore, but Jordan Eberle balances that out. I think we can all agree that the Islanders won the Eberle trade. Now that I think about it, have the Oilers won any trade in the last three years?

Looking at the Islanders blueline is where you start to see the team breakdown. Nick Leddy and Dennis Seidenberg are good support guys, but neither of them are top-2 defensemen. It gets worse as you go down the list. It’s a bunch of average 4-6 defensemen. Kind of like Detroit, but a little better.

Jared Coreau vs. Thomas Greiss

Coreau is the confirmed starter for Detroit, despite being placed on waivers this afternoon. He’s had six NHL starts this season and put up a lousy .859 save percentage and 4+ goals against average. Assuming he clears waivers, which I expect him to, he’ll be back in Grand Rapids this weekend to help the Griffins on their playoff push.

The Islanders goaltending has been another sore spot for them this season. Greiss has put up a .890 save percentage over 24 starts, which is far below his .912 career save percentage. He’s 2-3-0 in his last five games, which have spanned back to January because of some injury issues. One can only wonder where the Isles would be right now if Greiss had been healthy and performing at his career averages all season.

The final game of the season will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit or MSG+ if you’re tuning in from the New York area. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for fun Red Wings content throughout the game and the offseason.