By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Rangers 3, Red Wings 2 – The Red Wings clinched a spot in the National Hockey League playoffs for the 25th straight season on Saturday afternoon.
Detroit, which fell to the New York Rangers in its final regular season game, clinched with a Boston Bruins loss to the Ottawa Senators in their final contest of the season.
The Red Wings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs as a third-seed in the Atlantic Division playoffs.
Riley Sheahan and Justin Abdelkader notched goals for Detroit in a losing effort.
Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard took the loss, stopping 17 of 19 shots.
The Rangers were led by Oscar Lindberg with a goal and an assist, while Dan Boyle and Kevin Hayes each chipped in with a tally.
The Red Wings finished the regular season with a 41-30-11 record, good for 93 points and a third place tie in the Atlantic Division.
Record: 41-30-11 93 pts
Tied for 3rd Place in Atlantic Division (8 pts behind Florida)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (25 pts behind Washington)
Clinched a 25th straight playoff berth
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: TBD Game 1 of 1st Round @ Tampa Bay Lightning @ Amalie Arena
Stats: Goals- Riley Sheahan (14), Justin Abdelkader (19). Assists- Pavel Datsyuk (33), Mike Green (28)., Brad Richards (18), Henrik Zetterberg (37). Goalie- Jimmy Howard L (14-14-5) 17 saves on 19 shots.
Yankees 8, Tigers 4- The New Yankees handed the Tigers their first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees were led by Jacoby Ellsbury with a triple and three RBIs, while Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran each homered.
C.C. Sabathia pitched the victory for New York, allowing three runs on four hits in six innings and striking out three.
The Tigers were paced by James McCann with two RBIs while Ian Kinsler added an RBI.
Detroit starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey struggled in his debut as a Tiger, allowing six runs on eight hits in three and 2/3 innings.
The Tigers will look to take the three-game series against the Yankees with a victory on Sunday night.
Record: 3-1
Tied for 1st Place in AL Central Division (Tied with Chicago)
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 158
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 159
Next Game: 04/10/2016 vs New York Yankees 8:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: James McCann 2 RBI (2), Ian Kinsler RBI (5), Justin Upton 2B (3).
Pitching stats: Mike Pelfrey L (0-1) 3.2 IP 8 H 6 R 6 ER 1 BB 3 K.
