ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Depleted by injuries, and maybe just due for a drop-off, the Detroit Red Wings have found their remarkable 22

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Depleted by injuries, and maybe just due for a drop-off, the Detroit Red Wings have found their remarkable 22-season streak of reaching the playoffs in jeopardy. Well, with 12 games to go, they are still in line for a spot. Gustav Nyquists third-period goal gave the Red Wings a 3-2 victory Saturday over the Minnesota Wild, their fourth win in five games. "The young guys are playing more and more and starting to believe in themselves more and more," said Jimmy Howard, who made 28 saves. "Its a fun time of year because youre seeing what we have, and the future looks bright." Brendan Smith and David Legwand each scored on a power play for the Red Wings, who were in a 2-for-25 slump with the man advantage until getting goals on both of their opportunities in this rare afternoon start. The Red Wings also quieted the Wilds top line of Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, held without a point for the first time in eight games. "For both teams it was a muddy track. There was no room for either team. It was just check, check, check, check, check. We found a way to get it done," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings, missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg among others, moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 79 points. Columbus has 78. Mikko Koivu gave the Wild an early lead with a power-play goal, and Charlie Coyle tied it on a third-period penalty shot. But the Wild, clinging to a wild card spot in the Western Conference, fell to 2-3-4 in nine games since the trade deadline. "We cant keep letting these points go to waste. Weve got to come into every game and play a solid 60 minutes," Coyle said, "Its coming down to the wire here, and weve got to make the most of it." The Wild, who have 83 points with 11 games remaining, are in seventh place, slightly ahead of Phoenix. The first team below the cut, Dallas, has 77 points but one more game left than the Wild. Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, prepared for questions from reporters about the recent slide, tried to stress optimism. "Were a confident team, and we feel good about where were going. We just have to jump start things a little bit right now," Yeo said. Just 15 seconds into the final frame, Johan Franzen, trailing Coyle on a breakaway, stuck his stick out to trip the struggling young centre. The penalty shot was awarded, the first of Coyles career. He used a slick right-left move to fake out Howard and tie the game at 2. That was Coyles second goal in 24 games. The momentum didnt last for the Wild, though. Nyquist, who has an NHL-leading 16 goals in 22 games since Jan. 20, sent a snap shot between Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper didnt appear to see right away and let get past his glove. The Red Wings thought they had another one barely a minute later when Franzen was called for making contact with Kuemper before the puck went in. Nyquist, who leads the Red Wings with 21 goals in just 45 of the teams 70 games since being called up from Grand Rapids of the AHL, credited centre Tomas Tatar for creating space. "He did a great job of driving the middle, and its his goal really. All I did was shoot," Nyquist said. Quipped Howard: "Us Maine guys know how to do it right." NOTES: The matinee was scheduled to accommodate the first Big Ten hockey championship game. ... The teams were due in Detroit for a Sunday night rematch, cramming their only two matchups this season into a 32-hour window. ... With Wisconsin taking on Ohio State, Suter and Wild teammate Dany Heatley had strong interest in the Big Ten title game. Heatley played two years for the Badgers from 1999-2001. Suter, a Madison area native, spent the 2003-04 season there before turning pro. ... Legwand was fined $5,000 Friday by the NHL for butting Pittsburghs Evgeni Malkin with the end of his stick when they played the Penguins on Thursday. ... Legwand has two goals and five assists in nine games since he was acquired from Nashville. ... Koivu ended a 13-game streak without a goal. He and Suter share the team lead with 32 assists. China Jerseys .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator.CLEVELAND - The Houston Rockets played again without Dwight Howard. Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden was in the building. Harden scored 37 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and the Rockets led from wire-to-wire in a 118-111 victory on Saturday night. With Howard out for a third straight game because of a sore left ankle, Harden provided a boost. He was 9 of 15 from the field, hit five 3-pointers, made all 14 of his free throws and had 11 assists without playing the fourth quarter after Houston built a 29-point lead late in the third. "Great players do that, they get going," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "Ive seen James do it countless times, but thats what separates him from a lot of players. He has the ability to do that." Harden dominated in just about every aspect of the game. He drove to the basket, buried shots from well beyond the 3-point line, converted free throws and found open teammates. "I just tried to be aggressive and be in attack mode to get to the rim," he said. "If the drive is there, I take it. If its not, Ill do something else. I just use my basketball instincts." Cleveland has lost four straight and played again without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined for three games with a strained left biceps. Houston made its first four shots and took a quick lead in snapping a three-game road losing streak. The Rockets also strengthened their hold on the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Chandler Parsons scored 16 points for Houston while Patrick Beverly added 15. Dion Waiters led Cleveland with 26 points. Tyler Zeller added a career-high 23 points for the Cavaliers, who also played without forward Luol Deng (sprained left ankle). The Rockets played their reserves for most of the fourth and Cleveland cut into the margin. Harden had eight points and eight assists in the first quarter, which saw Cleveland coach Mike Brown call timeout twice in the first four minutes as Houston took a 17-4 lead. The margin reached 15 points in the second period and Houston shot 59 per cent in the first half. Cleveland scored the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 67-62, but Hardens five free throws sparked a 9-0 run and the Rockets regained control. His four-point play pushed the lead to 87-70. Harden hhit a 3-pointer from the top of the key moments later, then added a dunk and another 3-pointer as the lead reached 101-72.dddddddddddd "Obviously, Harden had a monster game," Brown said. Howard returned to practice Friday and participated in Saturday mornings shootaround, but didnt dress for the game. He played in each of Houstons first 66 games, but was a late scratch Monday, had a cyst removed from the ankle the following day and didnt play Thursday. "I dont think he feels quite good enough to play, but he feels much better," McHale said before the game. Houston is undefeated in the eight-time All-Stars absence. Howard scored 26 points and had six rebounds in the Rockets 106-92 win over Cleveland on Feb. 1. He averages 18.6 points and 12.4 rebounds for the season. Injuries and a brutal schedule have dropped Cleveland out of playoff contention. The Cavaliers are 2-8 in March and trail Atlanta by 6 1/2 games for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland, which has also dropped games to the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami and Oklahoma City in the streak, has lost eight of 10 and has dropped five straight at home. The Cavaliers fell behind by 24 points in Thursdays loss to the Thunder, a trend Brown is displeased with. "Thats two games in a row that weve come out and our first group has just been flat," he said. "Theyve been flat offensively, flat defensively. So its been an uphill battle, especially being short-handed." The difficult schedule continues Sunday when the Cavaliers travel to New York, which has won eight in a row. Cleveland was routed 113-86 on Jan. 30 at Madison Square Garden. The Rockets have won four straight and six of their last seven against the Cavaliers. Seth Curry, signed by Cleveland to a 10-day contract Friday, scored three points in eight minutes. Hes the younger brother of Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry. NOTES: Rockets guard Francisco Garcia isnt with the team because of personal reasons. ... In addition to missing Irving and Deng, the Cavaliers played without guard C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle) and forwards Anthony Bennett (strained left patellar) and Sergey Karasev (sore right knee). ... Seth Curry appeared in one game earlier this season for Memphis, playing four scoreless minutes. ... Houston plays at Charlotte on Monday. ' ' '