The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings kick off the post-Christmas break with an Original Six matchup. The Red Wings come into the game with a brand-new coach. On Boxing Day, they fired Derek Lalonde and hired Todd McLellan as his replacement.
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These two teams find themselves in completely different positions coming out of the break. The Maple Leafs are battling with the Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Red Wings are fighting to stay out of the basement of the division. With a new coach behind the bench, the Red Wings should bring a bit more energy as they look to make a strong first impression.
First Period
The first period was all Maple Leafs. Despite being without their captain, Auston Matthews, the team’s new-look first line of Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Max Pacioretty set the tone early. Just 2:29 into the game, David Kampf (1) opened the scoring to put Toronto up by one. At 8:16, Marner (11) added to the lead with a well-placed shot. Late in the period, Marner (12) struck again at 19:28, sending the Maple Leafs into the first intermission with a commanding 3-0 lead.
Second Period
The second period followed the same script for the Maple Leafs. They clogged lanes, blocked shots, and delivered hits, even though Detroit controlled most of the puck possession. Toronto played a gritty, Craig Berube-style game, which translated into more scoring. Marner (13) completed a natural hat trick at the 16:23 mark, bringing his season total to 49 points. Following the 4-0 goal, the Maple Leafs dominated the rest of the period. Their strong play was capped off by a goal from Nick Robertson (6), giving Toronto a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the third.
Shoutout to the Maple Leafs’ blue line, specifically Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit, and Morgan Rielly, who all went to the bench in pain. However, they stayed in the game and showcased great team toughness.
Third Period
Starting the third, McLellan replaced Cam Talbot with Alex Lyon to try and send a message to his team. The third period was much like the first two; the Red Wings had more puck possession but struggled to generate chances in the slot area. About eight minutes into the period, the Maple Leafs seemed to slow down, leading to four great chances for the Red Wings. After Joseph Woll made four outstanding saves, Lucas Raymond (14) finally beat Woll to break the shutout and cut the lead to 5-1. With 7:52 left in the third, Toronto played a bit sloppy, and Simon Edvinsson (4) fired a shot through a screen to make it 5-2.
The Maple Leafs withstood the Red Wings’ third-period push and secured a 5-2 victory.
