New Red Wings Cole, Zidlicky to debut Wednesday night against Rangers

From left: Erik Cole and Marek Zidlicky

DETROIT – There will be two new faces in red sweaters Wednesday night when the Detroit Red Wings host the New York Rangers.

Forward Erik Cole is expected to be on Henrik Zetterberg's right wing with Justin Abdelkader on the left. That's if Zetterberg, who has missed the past four games with an injury, is cleared to play. He was hit in the head last week by Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn.

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New defenseman Marek Zidlicky will be paired up with Brendan Smith.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RSN

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To make room for the newcomers, the Red Wings sent rookie forward Teemu Pulkkinen back to the Grand Rapids Griffins and placed rookie defenseman Alexey Marchenko on injured reserve. Forward Darren Helm is out of the lineup with an upper body injury. Both Marchenko and Helm suffered injuries in Saturday's game in Nashville.

Wednesday night's NBC Sports "Rivalry Night" game will be the Red Wings' first game at Joe Louis Arena since Feb. 16, which was a 2-0 loss to Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens. Detroit began a six-game western road trip with a 3-2 shootout win in Chicago on Feb. 18. The Red Wings (35-15-11, 81 points) made stops in Dallas, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Nashville. They went 4-1-1 on the trip, gaining 9 out of a possible 12 points. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division.

Look for Zidlicky on the Red Wings power play. The righthanded shooting defenseman has 12 power play points this season (3 goals, 9 assists).

Jimmy Howard will start in net for Detroit.

The Rangers (39-17-6, 84 points) are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They picked up defenseman Keith Yandle from the Arizona Coyotes. He debuted with the Rangers Monday night when they beat the Nashville Predators, 4-1.

That was their second-straight win and eighth in the past 10 games (8-1-1). The Rangers have been without their star goalie Henrik Lundqvist since Feb. 2 when he was hit high with a puck. That hasn't kept them from winning. Backup Cam Talbot has filled in nicely. Talbot now has 13 wins this season with a .917 save percentage. He made 25 saves Monday night to help the Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Predators.

Meanwhile, Rick Nash leads the team with 59 points (38 goals, 21 assists). He scored Monday night after going three games without a goal.

This is the third and final regular season meeting between the Red Wings and Rangers. The Rangers won 4-3 in overtime Nov. 5 (when Detroit goalie Jonas Gustavsson was hurt on the final play) in New York. The Red Wings were victorious Dec. 6 at home, 3-2.

NOTES:

-- Johan Franzen remains out of Detroit's lineup with an injury. He hasn't played since early January.

-- Cole is expected to wear No. 72 while Zidlicky is expected to wear No. 28.

-- Defenseman Jakub Kindl is a healthy scratch.