RECAP: Edvinsson rises ‘from the dead,’ nets OT winner to lift Red Wings to 3-2 victory over Maple Leafs 

DETROIT - Bouncing back in a big way to cap off their weekend back-to-back set fresh out of the NHL’s holiday break, the Detroit Red Wings overcame two separate one-goal deficits to capture a 3-2 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday night.

“We didn’t play like we wanted to yesterday,” said Simon Edvinsson, who scored the game-winning goal 1:46 into the extra frame. “We knew this game was going to be huge against a rival, and to come back twice is huge for the group. We need to take these wins, build off them and keep going.”

Goalie Cam Talbot turned aside 25 shots for Detroit (23-14-3; 49 points), which tied the Anaheim Ducks for the second-most comeback wins (11) in the NHL this season. By comparison, goaltender Dennis Hildeby made 33 saves as Toronto (17-15-6; 40 points) pushed its point streak to three straight games.

“That was a game I felt like, in the first half, probably should’ve ended up going their way,” Mason Appleton said. “And then in the second half, I thought, ‘This is our game and we’re going to find a way to win this one.’ Sometimes, it takes 60. Sometimes, it takes 65. Going into OT, we were confident.”

Chants of “Go Leafs Go” and “Let’s Go Red Wings” got going right away in what ended up being a scoreless first period, with each Original Six squad firing eight shots on goal apiece.

Ben Chiarot was whistled for tripping Easton Cowan behind Detroit’s net at 3:29 of the second period, leading to Matthew Knies’ power-play goal 56 seconds later that put Toronto up 1-0. Knies was in the slot when he one-timed a feed from Auston Matthews, who grabbed the puck down low after John Tavares’ attempt to sneak it in from behind the goal line went off the base of the net and right to the 28-year-old captain.

“I thought they held onto pucks better in the first half of the game than we did,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We got into the O-zone and exposed pucks a lot, but they just stripped it off us and went the other way.”

Detroit was on the penalty kill midway through the second period when Edvinsson had to be helped off the ice after blocking a Tavares shot. The Swedish blueliner went into his club’s dressing room, but was back on the bench only a few minutes later.

“He’s one of our best shot blockers,” McLellan said about Edvinsson. “He’s got such a big body and range that he always seems to get something in the line of the puck at least whether it’s a stick. You saw that after he was down for the count. He still got a stick on it, but he got it in a spot where everything kind of went numb and he needed a little bit of time to get some feeling back in that leg. And when it came back, he was good to go. Played a hell of a game.”

Moritz Seider netted the equalizer for the Red Wings with 59 seconds left in the middle frame, doing so just moments after Lucas Raymond unloaded a shot that rang iron, on a screened wrister from the blue line to get it to 1-1.

“I thought we got rewarded, finally, for that seven- or eight-minute stretch that we were playing” McLellan said about Seider’s seventh goal of the campaign. “There was a positive vibe, for the first time since Christmas, in that locker room going into the third... A goal at that time can do that for your team, but it can also work against you if you’re scored on.”

The Atlantic Division rivals traded blows early in the third period, beginning with Bobby McMann’s slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle that got past Talbot to put Toronto back on top 2-1 at 3:02.

At 5:16, Appleton’s wrist shot from the right face-off circle went top shelf to tie it again for Detroit 2-2. Michael Rasmussen and Albert Johansson each notched a helper on Appleton’s fourth goal of the season.

“To answer right back, that kind of calms you right back down and puts you back into that same mindset you were playing in before that,” Appleton said. “From there, a lot of really good chances.”

As for how Edvinsson scored his fifth goal of the season, he collected the puck at the blue line and skated towards the net before making a nice move to his backhand to beat Hildeby.

“I saw the opportunity,” Edvinsson said. “Goalie was out. I just took the opportunity and put it into the net.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will host the Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena for the annual New Year’s Eve Game, presented by Planet Fitness, on Wednesday.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on Edvinsson’s offensive game

“His game’s going to evolve. I’m really glad that he’s defending as well as he is with Mo. They eat a lot of minutes up, and any offense we can get from either of those two is a bonus.”

McLellan on James van Riemsdyk’s status

“Hopefully, we can get him on the ice tomorrow and get him skating. He needs his legs, obviously, to do his job. That shot [against the Dallas Stars last Wednesday] got him in a bad spot.”

Edvinsson on Detroit’s approach going into overtime

“A lot of people have confidence, and we don’t try to force stuff. Very confident out there. You can see it in a lot of guys. A lot of guys are stepping up when we need them the most. Mo has been doing that a lot lately. What a player that is. All the credit [to Seider] for getting us going there on the first goal.”

Appleton on Edvinsson’s play against the Maple Leafs

“He rose from the dead, came back and scored an unbelievable goal. Real solid game. I thought he defended against the top guys very well. On the PK there, that was a gutsy effort.”