Sometimes, even the best teams need a spark. For coach Peter Laviolette, that was provided by the Barclay Goodrow line in a Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.

For most of the season, Goodrow’s struggled offensively. Before he scored a goal at Arizona on Mar. 30, he’d gone 40 games without one. Despite that, the 31-year-old well-respected veteran always gives a consistent effort. Utilized as a checking center and key penalty killer, he’s trusted by Laviolette defensively.

Facing a Red Wings team in the wildcard hunt, Goodrow was at his best scoring twice to lead the way. It was the strong play of the Goodrow line at even strength that Laviolette rode to the win.

The trio of Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Jonny Brodzinski made an impact with their effective forecheck and grit. Not only did they combine for two goals. But they were the Rangers’ best line against the Red Wings.

Laviolette rewarded them with more ice time at even strength than the top two lines. Neither the first or second line was noticeable. Mika Zibanejad (12:06), Chris Kreider (11:34), and Jack Roslovic (7:34) all saw less ice time at full strength.

Goodrow (13:39), Vesey (13:23), and Brodzinski (13:24) earned the promotion. They made things happen at five-on-five. Laviolette also used the third line more. Goalscorer Will Cuylle (12:46) had a good night along with Alex Wennberg (13:35) and Kaapo Kakko (14:07).

The Rangers’ bottom six forwards made the most of their shifts. It was an off night for Panarin, Trocheck, and Lafreniere. They’ve carried the offense for the majority of the season. They didn’t have it.

Zibanejad and Kreider continue to have their problems at five-on-five. Roslovic hardly played. He’s been hit or miss. The former Blue Jacket received a 24-second shift on the power play for a total of 8:07 of ice time.

The Rangers will need more out of Zibanejad and Kreider when the playoffs start. They must drive play at five-on-five. They can’t rely on the power play. Kreider came through with his 107th career power-play goal to break a 3-3 tie score in the third period. He tied Rod Gilbert for second on the Rangers’ franchise list in power-play goals – trailing only Camille Henry (116) for the most in team history.

That can also be echoed for the defense pair of K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba. Although they weren’t caught on for any of Detroit’s three goals, the Red Wings generated some quality chances against them.

Jonathan Quick made some good saves, including a nice glove stop on J.T. Compher. Quick had a good night stopping 31 of 34 shots to pick up the victory.

Two nights removed from the line brawl against the Devils that featured rookie Matt Rempe, he came out of the lineup. Laviolette went back to Brodzinski on the checking line. He rewarded the coach with a superb performance, finishing with two assists and a team high six shots. He also won 4 of 7 faceoffs.

In the first period, with the game scoreless, Cuylle faked out Austin Czarnik by calling for a pass in the neutral zone. He stole the puck and used a defenseman as a screen to fire a wrist shot past Alex Lyon at 5:58 for his 13th goal of the season.

Over a minute later, Andrew Copp came right back with his 16th on a nice feed in front from Joe Veleno. Copp was left alone by Zibanejad, who went to help Braden Schneider behind the net.

With the game still tied late in the period, Goodrow took a Vesey pass in the slot and beat Lyon for his first of the game with under 30 seconds remaining to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

But early in the second period, the Red Wings were able to draw even. On some sustained pressure, Compher was able to redirect a Jeff Petry feed past Quick at 1:24. After taking a pass from David Perron, Petry was able to slide the puck by Ryan Lindgren to Compher for the tying goal.

The Red Wings went ahead on the power play with 6:41 remaining in the period. Dylan Larkin drew a hooking minor on Erik Gustafsson. He would get rewarded by slamming in a Perron rebound for his 30th to put the Wings ahead 3-2.

On the following shift, Laviolette sent out his best line. Vesey and Brodzinski combined to create a rebound that Goodrow steered home to tie the score only 25 seconds later.

They would see more shifts for the remainder of the game. So, too, would Wennberg, Cuylle, and Kakko. Those were the players who were going. Their simple approach worked better against the Red Wings than the top six.

In the third period, Perron took an undisciplined, high-sticking minor when he caught Miller in the offensive zone. It took less than a minute for the Rangers to take advantage.

Panarin moved the puck foe Zibanejad in the left circle. Instead of shooting to score, he made a heady play by softly passing it in front for Kreider to deflect on Lyon for a rebound that he put in for his 37th goal.

Shortly after, they were forced to kill off a Trouba high-sticking minor on Shayne Gostisbehere. Quick came up with two saves, including one to deny Lucas Raymond.

When the Red Wings went for it late by pulling Lyon for a six-on-five, Quick again stopped Raymond with over a minute left. The Wings had one more chance. However, Robby Fabbri passed up a wide open shot in the slot. Instead, he opted for a tough pass that never made it to Raymond in front. 9

That missed opportunity could definitely cost the Red Wings. They didn’t even get a point. Had they forced overtime, they would be in the second wildcard over the slumping Flyers, who lost to the Sabres. With the Capitals losing 4-2 to the Hurricanes, the Flyers remain in the wildcard. They have five games left.

The Penguins look like they’re going to make it. They’re playing the best right now. Sidney Crosby is trying to will them in. Evgeni Malkin is suddenly playing better, and Michael Bunting is scoring key goals. They’re doing this with Alex Nedeljkovic, who’s been getting the job done.

The Pens host the Lightning tomorrow afternoon. If they win, they’ll have 83 points. Nobody wants to see Crosby in the playoffs. Let me rephrase. If you’re the Rangers or Bruins, do you want to face the Pens in the first round? That wouldn’t be the best matchup. Neither would seeing the Lightning, who’ve played much better down the stretch.

There are a lot of different playoff scenarios. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen. So much can change by next week. We’ll see how things play out.