By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

Red Wings 3, Sharks 0 – The Red Wings blanked the defending Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.

LSJ Logo incertDetroit, which has won its fourth straight game, were paced by Gustav Nyquist with two goals while goaltender Jimmy Howard picked up his first shutout of the season, stopping all 30 San Jose shots.

The Red Wings are now 4-2 on the season, good for eight points and a second-place tie in both the Atlantic Division and Western Conference standings.

The game was scoreless after the first period.

Detroit outscored the Sharks 2-0 during the second period on a pair of goals by Nyquist at the 4:14 and 15:10 marks of the stanza.Eye on the D

Andreas Athanasiou closed out the scoring for the Red Wings with a goal 6:05 into the third period.

The Red Wings will remain home and host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

Record: 4-2-0   8 pts

Tied for 2nd Place in Atlantic Division (1 pt behind Montreal Canadiens)

Tied for 2nd Place in Eastern Conference (1 pt behind Montreal Canadiens)

2 points ahead of Boston Bruins for final playoff spot

Magic # of pts to clinch a playoff berth: 153 pts

Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Atlantic Division title: 156 pts

Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 156 pts

Next Game: 10/25/2016 vs Carolina Hurricanes 7:30 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena

Stats: Goals- Gustav Nyquist 2 (3), Andreas Athanasiou (1).   Assists- Jonathan Ericsson (2), Ryan Sproul (2), Thomas Vanek (4).   Goalie- Jimmy Howard W (2-0-0) 30 saves on 30 shots 1st shutout.