By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Red Wings 3, Senators 1 – The Red Wings picked up their third straight win at home, defeating the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.
Danny DeKeyser opened the scoring for Detroit with a goal at the 3:03 mark of the first period.
The Red Wings took a 2-0 lead with a Henrik Zetterberg goal 2:01 into the third period.
Ottawa responded with a power play goal from Zack Smith to cut its deficit to 2-1 with 2:24 left in regulation.
Darren Helm put the game away for Detroit, adding an empty net goal at the 18:49 mark of the third period.
Detroit’s goaltender Petr Mrazek picked up the victory, stopping 22 of 23 shots.
The Red Wings are now 28-18-8 on the season, good for 64 points second place in the Atlantic Division. They are three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the final playoff spot.
Detroit will continue its five-game home stand on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
Record: 28-18-8 64 pts
2nd Place in Atlantic Division (6 pts behind Florida)
4th Place in Eastern Conference (18 pts behind Washington)
3 pts ahead of New Jersey for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 52 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 63 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference: 79 pts
Next Game: 02/12/2016 vs. Colorado Avalanche 7:30 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Danny DeKeyser (7), Henrik Zetterberg (10), Darren Helm (5) Assists- Andreas Athanasiou (2), Pavel Datsyuk (21), Gustav Nyquist (16), Brendan Smith (10). Goaltender- Petr Mrazek W (21-10-4) 22 saves on 23 shots.
Nuggets 103, Pistons 92 – The Pistons dropped their third straight game, falling to the Denver Nuggets Wednesday on Chauncey Billups night.
The Pistons led for most of the first half, but the Nuggets outscored Detroit 51-39 during the second half to erase a slim one-point halftime deficit.
Detroit played without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle), Ersan Ilyasova (illness) and Reggie Jackson (illness).
Will Barton and Jusuf Nurkic paced the Nuggets with 20 and 16 points, respectively, off the bench.
The Pistons were led by Marcus Morris with 19 points, while Brandon Jennings added 16. Andre Drummond picked up a double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds.
The Pistons are now 27-27 heading into the all-star break. They are in ninth-place in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit will return to action one week from Friday on the road against the Washington Wizards.
Record: 27-27
4th Place in Central Division (12 games behind Cleveland)
9th Place in Eastern Conference (12 games behind Cleveland)
.5 games behind Charlotte for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 30
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 42
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 42
Next Game: 02/19/2016 @ Washington Wizards 7:00 p.m. @ Verizon Center
Stats: Marcus Morris 19 points 6 assists, Andre Drummond 15 points 17 rebounds, Brandon Jennings 16 points.
