By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Red Wings 3, Wild 2 – The Red Wings held on to defeat the Minnesota Wild on Friday night to stay in the thick of the playoff race with four games remaining.
Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 and 3-1 lead, before Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund cut the deficit to one-goal with 10 minutes left in regulation.
Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan each scored a goal for the Red Wings while Gustav Nyquist chipped in with two assists.
Detroit’s goaltender Jimmy Howard picked up the win, stopping 20 of 22 shots.
The Red Wings are now 39-28-11 on the season, good for 89 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They are tied with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot and are one-point behind third-place Boston.
Detroit will play three of its final four games on the road starting Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Record: 39-28-11 89 pts
4th Place in Atlantic Division (6 pts behind Florida)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (25 pts behind Washington)
Tied with Philadelphia for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 10 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 17 pts
Misery # towards elimination from a playoff berth: 9 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Atlantic Division title: 3 pts
Eliminated from Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: 04/02/2016 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00 p.m. @ Air Canada Centre
Stats: Goals- Dylan Larkin (23), Riley Sheahan (13), Tomas Tatar (21). Assists- Gustav Nyquist 2 (25), Jonathan Ericsson (11), Niklas Kronwall (23), Sheahan (11), Henrik Zetterberg (35). Goaltender- Jimmy Howard W (12-12-5) 20 saves on 22 shots.
Mavericks 98, Pistons 89 – The Pistons ended their nine-game home stand with a loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Detroit posted a 6-3 record during the home stint, and will play on the road during the next three contests.
The Pistons were tied 25-25 after the first quarter, trailed 51-36 at halftime and had a 71-61 disadvantage after three quarters.
The Mavericks were led by J.J. Barea with 29 points while Dirk Nowitzki added 19.
Marcus Morris paced the Pistons with a game-high 31 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 and Andre Drummond chipped in with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Reggie Jackson also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.
The Pistons are now 40-36 on the season, good for a seventh place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They a game and a half ahead of the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot with six games remaining.
Detroit will travel to face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Record: 40-36
2nd Place in Central Division (14 games behind Cleveland)
7th Place in Eastern Conference (14 games behind Cleveland)
1.5 games ahead of Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 6
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 9
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention.
Next Game: 04/02/2016 @ Chicago Bulls 8:00 p.m. @ United Center
Stats: Marcus Morris 31 points 12 rebounds, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 15 points, Tobias Harris 14 points, Andre Drummond 12 points 17 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 11 points 10 assists.
