You know what they say… there’s SNOW better feeling than a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs! Last night’s puck drop for the Red Wings’ road game against the Leafs got pushed back due to incliment weather and travel issues. Even with the delayed start, the boys showed up to Scotiabank Arena 90 minutes before puck drop and still managed to be hotter than the home team.
The goalie matchup for this game was interesting to say the least. It was James Reimer versus Ilya Samsonov- both of which have had bumpy seasons so far. I was anticipating a 10+ goal game and was thankfully proven to be wrong.
With Jake Walman out of the lineup again, Moritz Seider was paired with Shayne Gostisbehere- a switch up from Saturday’s pairing with Olli Määttä against the L.A. Kings. Other than that, lines largely remained the same.
1st Period
The Red Wings started off the game with an early penalty by Lucas Raymond. Thankfully, the penalty kill was hot and ready to shut down the Leafs. Both teams did not seem to be in a rush to score or make huge moves in the offensive zone as the period ended scoreless.
Overall, it was a rather uneventful first period aside from Patrick Kane suffering a lower-body injury from two awkward hits into the boards. As he is just coming off of a major hip resurfacing surgery over the offseason, that is not something that you want to see happen. It was announced that he would not be back for the remainder of the game and will undergo further evaluation.
Kane has been one of the strongest players on the roster as of late so it’ll definitely hurt a bit if he is out for an extended period of time. In his last five games, he has had one goal and two assists for a season total of seven goals and nine assists.
2nd Period
The Leafs came out swinging in the second with a goal just 32 seconds in, courtesy of Pontus Holmberg. His shot came from the blue line and slipped through the Red Wings defense and past James Reimer. There isn’t too much you can do about goals like that if the goaltender is not expecting the shot to come from that far out, but it was a good start to scoring for Toronto.
Dylan Larkin got the Red Wings on the board midway through the period with a beautiful goal assisted by David Perron. This is his 4th goal in the last five games and his 17th of the season so far. Larkin had a two-goal game Saturday night against the L.A. Kings and continued his hot streak in Toronto.
Mitch Marner had Reimer doing some kind of breakdancing trying to stop his shot which inevitably went in to light the lamp. This was Marner’s 18th goal of the season, assisted by former Red Wing Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake McCabe. Marner’s goal brought the Leafs to a 2-1 lead and closed out their scoring for the evening.
3rd Period
Early in the third, Daniel Sprong had a beautiful goal that tied the game at 2-2. Morgan Reilley was without a stick as Sprong was on the rush and was no match for his speed. He made Samsonov look silly as he easily dodged his poke check and scored on the backhand.
Things really heated up when Andrew “May Never Score Again” Copp gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead with under two minutes left in the game. This was his third goal in the last three games- a drastic change from his dry stretch that began in mid November.
Finally, Lucas Raymond sealed the deal with an empty netter for a final score of 4-2. This was the third straight loss for the Leafs and the second on home ice. It was a very competitive game until the Red Wings took control in the dying minutes of the game.
These three unanswered goals were huge for the Red Wings as they absolutely dominated the final 20 minutes of play. This is exactly the kind of game that they need to keep morale high and the momentum flowing into the rest of their road trip!
Three Quick Takeaways
1. Andrew Copp MAY be back
It really does seem that he has been reading what people have been saying about him online and suddenly has a point to prove. With four points in his last five games, with three of those being goals, he is seemingly getting back into his groove. Hopefully he can keep that momentum flowing and keep racking up some points!
2. The Red Wings have the first wild card spot (!!!)
The Wings have finally surpassed the Tampa Bay Lightning in the wild card standings and that’s something to celebrate. I don’t want to jinx anything but this feels like a very exciting milestone at this point in the season and I’ll gladly take the thrill while I can.
3. Reimer didn’t flop… but Lyon still stands on top
In last night’s game, Reimer made 28 saves and ended with a .933 save percentage. His season totals are now up to a .889 SV% and a 3.42 goals-against average- trailing Alex Lyon by a large margin. Lyon currently has a .922 SV% and a 2.58 GAA with his save percentage coming in at 6th best in the league and goals-against average at 14th best.
The Red Wings look to continue their road winning streak in Florida this coming Wednesday as they take on the Florida Panthers.
One final note, GO LIONS!!!
