Red Wings Drop 4-3 Season Finale in OT vs. Maple Leafs..
On the final day of the NHL regular season, the Detroit Red Wings (39-35-8) dropped a 4-3 overtime decision vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs (52-26-4) Thursday night from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Unlike Detroit’s previous few games against Stanley Cup Playoff-bound teams, the Maple Leafs were unable to give a day off to their premier stars, such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares, due to the team’s current salary cap limitations.
While the opening 18 minutes of the first period were evenly fought, Toronto struck first when Mitch Marner banked the puck to Matthew Knies on the left-side boards of the Red Wings’ zone, who slid a pass to an open Auston Matthews behind the defense that was tipped on the backhand over an outstretched Cam Talbot for a 1-0 Maple Leaf lead with 2:07 left.
Detroit would respond with 40.6 seconds left when Austin Watson scored his third goal as a Red Wing on a loose puck that played off Justin Holl, which he roofed on a backhand shot from right in front of the net above the right shoulder of Maple Leafs’ goaltender Joseph Woll. Justin Holl’s assist brings his season total to six on the play.
The Red Wings would strike again early in the second period when Marko Kasper fed Holl for an innocent-looking wrister from the right point that knuckleballed above the catching glove of Woll into the top-right portion of the net to give Detroit a 2-1 lead with 17:41 left in the period. Marko Kasper would pick up his 18th point of the campaign. At the same time, Vladirim Tarasenko would register his 22nd helper (Tarasenko fed Holl for a shot that deflected off a Toronto player, which was recollected by Kasper) of the season.
A few minutes later, Detroit added to their lead on the power play when Patrick Kane passed the puck to Debrincat, who played catch with Moritz Seider before the Red Wings’ defenseman played a pass back to Debrincat for a one-timer from the left circle that soared just over the glove into the right side of the net with 14:10 remaining in the second frame.
Seider’s subtle shift to the center-point was just enough to move the Maple Leaf defenders out of DeBrincat’s shooting lane for his 39th goal of the year. The assists to Kane and Seider give both players their 38th helpers of the season.
The Red Wings’ lead would be cut to one early in the third period when Philippe Myers slithered the puck between the legs of Talbot after making a few fabulous moves around Tyler Motte and Austin Watson from the right point with 16:17 remaining.
While the Red Wings had several chances to close out the game in regulation with the Toronto net empty as time dwindled, the puck would eventually find its way behind Talbot with 1.8 seconds left when all five Detroit players got caught watching the puck, which left Christopher Tanev wide open as he raced from the right point for a wrister in the slot that beat the Red Wings’ goaltender over the glove on the right side.
As overtime commenced, a Knies wrister would miss wide of the net but bounce off the end-boards directly to an open Scott Laughton on the right side, who tucked the puck in past a sliding Talbot just 56 seconds into the extra frame.
For Laughton, it is his fifth goal against the Red Wings this season (scored four goals against Detroit on Dec. 14 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers) and his 14th goal in 22 career games vs. Detroit.
Regarding special teams, the Red Wings would finish 1-for-2 on the man advantage and hold the Maple Leafs to 0-for-2 on their power play chances. Detroit would also outshoot Toronto by a 34-20 margin.
While Detroit has been mathematically eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention since April 12, the overtime loss still stings as multiple Red Wings players fell just short of impressive individual season milestones.
DeBrincat came just one goal shy of becoming the first Red Wings player to reach the 40-goal plateau since Marian Hossa in 2009, Kane finished one point short of 60 on the season, and Kasper was one goal away from 20 tallies on the season in just his 37th game of the year.
Although the Red Wings will once again have to endure a long offseason after failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth consecutive year, there are many positives to take into next season.
The high-performing core is locked up in long-term deals, the salary cap will be increasing, and more youth reinforcements are expected to be on the way soon with defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (No. 17 overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft) and forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (No. 15 overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft) joining the Grand Rapids Griffins for their 2025 Calder Cup Playoff run.
As for now, Red Wings fans will have to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the outside looking in as we all await the start of the franchise’s centennial season in early October.
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