PREVIEW: Red Wings host Golden Knights for St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on Sunday afternoon | Detroit Red Wings

April 17 marks Detroit’s regular-season finale, and the players know they need to collect as many points as they can in the weeks ahead to give themselves the best possible chance of securing a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth. Entering Sunday’s matinee, the Red Wings sat just four points behind the New York Rangers for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot.

“Everyone in this locker room knows what we’re capable of,” Lucas Raymond said. “We have a lot of belief in ourselves. There’s a lot of games left to be played, and our goal remains the same. We’re going to do everything we can to push towards it.”

Ranked first in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division, Vegas is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights with 80 points (21 goals, 59 assists) and heads into Sunday riding an eight-game point streak after lighting the lamp once in Buffalo. Next in line behind Eichel on the club’s scoring leaderboard are Mark Stone (17-41—58) and Tomas Hertl (27-28—55).

Goalie Adin Hill made 34 saves for Vegas on Saturday.

“Our attempt at a win [on Sunday] is going to have to be more consistent than it was [on Friday],” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “The game may be a little bit different. [Vegas] play a little bit differently [than Carolina], but if we’re not in it for 60 it doesn’t matter what momentum or preparation we’re talking about. This isn’t the time of the year to play for two periods. It’s the time to compete for three.”

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