By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Lightning 3, Red Wings 1 – The Tampa Bay Lightning skated past the Red Wings on Wednesday night in Detoit’s first game since the All-Star break.
The Lightning opened the scoring with a goal from J.T. Brown at the 1:23 mark of the second period.
The Red Wings lone goal by Gustav Nyquist tied the game at 1-1 five minutes into the second period.
Tampa Bay responded with goals from Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov at the 6:30 mark of the second stanza and 3:23 of third period, respectively.
Detroit’s goaltender Petr Mrazek took the loss, stopping 20 of 23 shots.
The Red Wings are now 25-17-8 on the season, good for 58 points and a third place tie in the Atlantic Division.
Detroit will remain on the road to play the Atlantic Division leading Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
Record: 25-17-8 58 pts
Tied 3rd Place in Atlantic Division (7 pts behind Florida)
Tied 5th Place in Eastern Conference (16 pts behind Washington)
1 pt ahead of New Jersey for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 63 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 72 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference: 85 pts
Next Game: 02/04/2016 @ Florida Panthers 7:30 p.m. @ BB&T Center
Stats: Goals- Gustav Nyquist (14). Assists-Kyle Quincey (4), Tomas Tatar (15). Goaltender- Petr Mrazek L (18-10-4) 20 saves on 23 shots.
Celtics 102, Pistons 95 – The Boston Celtics took advantage of the Pistons slow start on Wednesday night to earn a victory on their home court.
The Celtics outscored Detroit 27-16 during the first quarter and led 56-36 at halftime.
The Pistons, who shot 37 percent from the floor, managed to cut their deficit to as low as seven points during the fourth quarter.
Boston’s Isaiah Thomas paced the Celtics with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Avery Bradley chipped in with 15 points.
The Pistons were led by Reggie Jackson with 17 points, while Andre Drummond added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the game late in the second quarter with a strained groin.
The Pistons are now 26-24 on the season, good for eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They have a one and a half game lead over the Charlotte Hornets for the final playoff spot.
Detroit will head home to host the New York Knicks on Thursday night.
Record: 26-24
4th Place in Central Division (10 games behind Cleveland)
8th Place in Eastern Conference (10 games behind Cleveland)
1.5 games ahead of Charlotte for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 32
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 44
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 44
Next Game: 02/04/2016 vs. New York Knicks 7:00 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Andre Drummond 16 points 13 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 17 points 7 assists, Ersan Ilyasova 16 points, Marcus Morris 15 points.
