By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Red Wings 3, Predators 2 – Luke Glendening’s game-winning goal 6:45 into the third period drove the Red Wings past the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
Brendan Smith and Riley Sheahan each scored a goal for Detroit.
The Predator’s Filip Forsberg notched both Nashville goals.
Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek was strong in net, stopping 24 of 26 shots in the victory.
The Red Wings are now 18-10-7 on the season, good for 43 points and a first place tie with Montreal in the Atlantic Division.
Detroit will continue its road trip Monday night against the Minnesota Wild.
Record: 18-10-7 43 pts
Tied for 1st Place in Atlantic Division
Tied for 3rd Place in Eastern Conference (11 pts behind Washington)
4 pts ahead of Tampa Bay and New Jersey for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 91 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 96 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference: 108 pts
Next Game: 12/28/2015 @ Minnesota Wild 8:00 p.m. @ Xcel Energy Arena
Stats: Goals- Luke Glendening (2), Riley Sheahan (5), Brendan Smith (2). Assists- Pavel Datsyuk (9), Darren Helm (6), Alexei Marchenko (1), Brad Richards (7), Smith (5), Tomas Tatar (12). Goaltender- Petr Mrazek W (11-6-3) 24 saves on 26 shots.
Celtics 99, Pistons 93 – Former Piston Jonas Jerebko’s two-point basket with 10 seconds left ended the Pistons chances of a comeback win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
The Pistons trailed by 16 points late in the third quarter before cutting their deficit to two-points in the finals seconds of regulation before the Celtics scored the final four points of the game.
The Celtics were led by Avery Bradley with 18 points, while Isaiah Thomas added 17.
Andre Drummond had a game-high 22 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit, while Reggie Jackson chipped in with 17 points.
The Pistons are now 17-14 on the season and are a half a game out of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoff race.
Detroit will continue its road trip with a game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Record: 17-14
4th Place in Central Division (4 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 9th Place in Eastern Conference (4 games behind Cleveland)
1/2 game behind Boston and Orlando for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 53
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 58
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 58
Next Game: 12/29/2015 @ New York Knicks 7:30 p.m. @ Madison Square Garden
Stats: Andre Drummond 22 points 22 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 17 points, Marcus Morris 16 points, Stanley Johnson 12 points.
