It was another night that the Red Wings held off the opposition to win their final preseason game. Detroit held on to their one goal lead in the final minutes to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. Detroit finished with a three game winning streak and plenty of decisions needing to be made by the season’s start.
Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg returned to the lineup for the final game of the preseason after deal with a knee injury that kept him out of the world cup. With the veteran back in the lineup and the Red Wings prospects still fighting for a permanent spot, it would be a push to impress on the last chance. Evgeny Svechnikov showed his skills in Friday’s victory over Toronto scoring both Detroit’s goals to win.
The Russian wasn’t in the lineup on the night but saw his team succeed early on against Toronto. The first came just 106 seconds into the opening period where Tomas Vanek set up near the faceoff to take a shot against net minder Frederik Andersen. Things slowed down for the teams after that with barely five in the books on combined shots to the net.
Detroit gained a power play after six minutes where Zetterberg got right to work with the power play unit. The veteran skated the puck in before taking a shot on net that was intercepted in front of Andersen. It landed on the stick of teammate Dylan Larkin who swept the puck up before immediately landing a backhander into the net and a 2-0 lead for Detroit.
It was again clear that the Red Wings were taking control of the game, but the offense was still below par. They managed very little after Larkin’s power play goal ending 20 minutes with just six shots. Toronto managed seven against them but sitting down two goals didn’t help their efforts in the period.
They came out guns blazing in the second as they wanted to get on the board and be competitive. Toronto’s best went at Petr Mrazek in net for the Red Wings who dealt with their offensive rushes and put them to rest. A big moment for the Czech was stopping number one draft pick Auston Matthews who tried to put his best against the Detroit goalie but was stopped in his tracks.
As half the game went into the books, Toronto gained their best moment by playing their first man advantage of the game. Mrazek and the Red Wings PK handled the two minutes down a man followed by catching up with Toronto on shots to the net. They went on a fourth power play but couldn’t convert much from it with 3:45 left in the period.
The Maple Leafs caught a lucky break with Zach Hymen taking a shot that net that caught Detroit on the wrong side of things. The puck flew towards the skate of a Red Wings player redirecting into an open part of the net on Mrazek’s right ending his shutout. Before the period came to a close, Detroit responded with a big goal from Brendan Smith who got set up after a bad turnover by Toronto.
The Maple Leafs made something happen 39 seconds into the third where William Nylander scored redirecting a shot from Connor Carrick to get back within reach. Another opportunity arrived with the puck going in after contact between a Toronto player and Mrazek both ending in the net. Officials agreed that goaltender interference was in play and allowed the Maple Leafs to tie the game.
Things got worse for Detroit as a delay of game penalty gave Toronto another boost of energy to get a chance at the lead on a second power play. They were playing like a dangerous team pressuring Mrazek and the Detroit defense. They got out of trouble but with the game being tied, it only meant that Detroit was going to have to outduel their Original Six rivals.
Toronto kept the shots on net higher than Detroit with nine minutes left in the period concerning some fans in the stands. It took Detroit some time but they eventually ended the monotony of the even scoreboard. Anthony Mantha made things happen with his shot going behind Andersen getting Detroit ahead with five minutes left in regulation.
Dylan Larkin continued to have a bad night on ice. Instead of being a top offensive weapon, he handed Toronto a third power play that sent Toronto on a mission to level at four all. They failed on their third try put still had 2:30 on the clock to send things into overtime. Toronto coach Mike Babcock pulled Andersen with 1:43 remaining and Detroit on edge to hold off the surge. Mrazek made a big save and one that would count to give them the important victory.
The 24-year-old ended the night with 29 saves for a .906 save percentage. Andersen fared worse with a .826 save percentage that pushed him to accept another loss on the day. Both teams had much to process as they were faced with very little time to consolidate the best players on their roster and bring together a squad that would soon begin the 2016-17 NHL season.
Photo by: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Photo by: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
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