Wings and a prayer

If the Blackhawks are going to make the playoffs, they're likely going to need to continue their dominance of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Hawks are down to 13 games remaining on the schedule, and three are against the Red Wings, starting with tonight's clash at Joe Louis Arena.

While the Red Wings still own the NHL's best record at 45-18-6, the Hawks have defeated them four of five times this season.

Hawks coach Denis Savard believes his team still is in a good spot to make a serious push for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"There are a lot of things that can happen," Savard said. "We've got to play Nashville twice, Vancouver has to play Colorado twice, Minnesota has to play Colorado three times.

"We've just got to get some points out of every game here the next couple games. Four games and 5 or 6 points would be nice. Anything above that would probably put us right up there again."

The Hawks like their schedule the rest of the way with seven home games and six on the road. They play Columbus three times in addition to the Red Wings.

"We just have to play one game at a time and not look too far ahead," Dustin Byfuglien said. "We had a lot of big games last week and faced some pretty good teams, and we battled as hard as we could and got some points."

The Hawks' schedule certainly is better than some of the teams they're battling, particularly the St. Louis Blues, who are in the midst of a nine-game road trip that could bury them for good.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, neither the Predators, Canucks, Blue Jackets nor Avalanche have a schedule as difficult as the one the Blues have.

• The Predators have a favorable finish with seven of their last 12 games at home. But the Preds also must play Detroit three more times in addition to their two with the Hawks and two with Columbus. And there is a game left with San Jose.

• The Canucks have 13 games left but began a stretch Monday at Los Angeles of eight of 10 on the road. If the Canucks can hang in there until the last week, they play their final four games at GM Place.

• A quirk in the schedule finds the Blue Jackets off until Friday, when they host the Hawks. It's their first of seven home games the rest of the way. Columbus still has four games to play against the Red Wings, three with the Hawks and two with Nashville.

• The Avalanche has six left at home and six on the road. There are three games remaining with Minnesota, three with red-hot Edmonton and one with New Jersey. The Avs also must travel to Atlanta for a game.

Add that up, and the Red Wings have 10 games left against the Hawks, Blue Jackets and Predators that figure to have an impact on how the West winds up.

After a blip a few weeks ago, Detroit appears to be back on track and getting healthy. All-star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom returned Sunday after missing six games with a knee strain.

Tonight's tipoff

Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, 6:30 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Hawks are 4-1 against the Red Wings, but Detroit won the last meeting 3-1 on Jan. 6 at the United Center. Nikolai Khabibulin has started all five games in goal for the Hawks, but it will be Patrick Lalime's game tonight. Patrick Sharp has 4 goals in the season series. The Red Wings are fourth in the NHL on the power play. Tomas Holmstrom (groin) is questionable, while Dan Cleary (broken jaw) is out. The Hawks returned rookie winger Bryan Bickell to Rockford.

Player to watch: Nicklas Lidstrom. The Wings' all-world defenseman plays his second game since returning from a knee injury.

Next: Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

-- Tim Sassone

NHL scoreboard watching

Heading into Monday's games, here's a look at the standings and the remaining schedule for the teams closest to the Blackhawks in the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference (bold denotes games against teams with 78 or more points):

8. Vancouver Canucks -- 34-24-10 (78 points)

March 10: at Kings March 25: at Flames

March 12: at Ducks March 26: at Avalanche

March 13: at Coyotes March 28: at Wild

March 15: at Stars March 30: home vs. Flames

March 17: home vs. Coyotes April 1: home vs. Avalanche

March 20: at Oilers April 3: home vs. Oilers

March 21: home vs. Wild April 5: home vs. Flames

9. Nashville Predators -- 35-27-8 (78 points)

March 11: home vs. Sharks March 25: home vs. Blue Jackets

March 13: home vs. Kings March 28: at Blue Jackets

March 15: at Red Wings March 30: at Red Wings

March 18: home vs. Capitals April 1: at Blues

March 20: home vs. Red Wings April 3: home vs. Blues

March 22: home vs. Blackhawks April 4: at Blackhawks

10. Phoenix Coyotes -- 34-30-5 (73 points)

March 11: home vs. Ducks March 25: home vs. Sharks

March 13: home vs. Canucks March 27: at Kings

March 15: home vs. Oilers March 30: at Sharks

March 17: at Canucks April 3: home vs. Stars

March 18: at Oilers April 4: at Stars

March 20: home vs. Kings April 6: at Ducks

March 22: home vs. Ducks

11. Blackhawks -- 33-29-7 (73 points)

March 11: at Red Wings March 26: at Blue Jackets

March 12: home vs. Hurricanes March 29: at Blues

March 14: at Blue Jackets March 30: home vs. Blue Jackets

March 16: home vs. Flames April 2: home vs. Red Wings

March 19: home vs. Capitals April 4: home vs. Predators

March 22: at Predators April 6: at Red Wings

March 23: home vs. Blues

12. Columbus Blue Jackets -- 31-28-11 (73 points)

March 14: home vs. Blackhawks March 26: home vs. Blackhawks

March 16: home vs. Red Wings March 28: home vs. Predators

March 18: home vs. Flames March 30: at Blackhawks

March 19: at Red Wings April 3: at Red Wings

March 22: home vs. Red Wings April 5: at Blues

March 25: at Predators April 6: home vs. Blues