RECAP: Red Wings ‘dug in a little bit more,’ rally for 6-3 victory over Maple Leafs

DETROIT -- Securing the first win of their Centennial season in comeback fashion, the Detroit Red Wings battled back from a two-goal, first-period deficit and pulled away from the Toronto Maple Leafs for an exciting 6-3 victory at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

“You talk about being mentally tough – we didn’t roll over,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We dug in a little bit more, so that’s a really good sign for us. I just thought we played with more pop and more energy, where we were connected. Sometimes the first night does that to you, but we settled in.”

Goalie Cam Talbot turned aside 20 of 23 shots for Detroit (1-1-0; 2 points), while netminder Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves for Toronto (1-1-0; 2 points).

“Did not come out the way we wanted to [on Opening Night] and that was far from the way we want to play,” said Lucas Raymond, who scored twice, including what proved to be the game-winner on the power play in the third period. “Cleaned up a lot of stuff. I think the way we looked tonight…it was a good 60 minutes of hockey.”

The Maple Leafs scored first, as Calle Jarnkrok put home a loose puck at the doorstep to give them an early 1-0 lead just 2:27 into the opening period. Then, with 7:31 left in the frame, Nicolas Roy deflected Morgan Rielly’s shot from the point past Talbot to double it to 2-0.

But Detroit regrouped after the first period and just before the halfway point of the second, sliced its deficit in half when Marco Kasper buried a snapshot from the slot. The play was kickstarted by Patrick Kane after he won a puck battle in the corner and got it to his younger linemate. Alex DeBrincat had the secondary assist on Kasper’s goal, which made it 2-1 at 8:56.

“It starts with J.T., Copper and Brans’ shift there,” Kane said about how the Red Wings’ first goal of the night transpired. “They have a good shift, get off the ice and put us in a good position to get out there fresh against some of their tired guys. We make a turnover, and that was a great catch and release there by Kasp to find us our first goal. It was a great shot.”

Keeping that momentum on the home squad’s side, a wide-open Raymond made no mistake in front on a cross-crease pass from captain Dylan Larkin and tied it 2-2 at 14:55 of the second period. With the secondary assist on Raymond’s first goal of the night, Emmitt Finnie also recorded his first career NHL point.

“For Emmitt, just the way he came into Training Camp, the rookie tournament and the way he played and made his mark, it was fun to watch,” Raymond said. “He’s not phased one bit. He plays this game with his speed. Obviously, very exciting for him to get his first point today and hopefully the first of a lot.”

Kane tacked on another goal for the Red Wings at 18:10 of the second period, one-timing a slick feed that came across the ice from DeBrincat to make it 3-2. The second helper went to Albert Johansson.

“It’s not like we came in and we had to change our whole game or anything like that,” Kane said when asked what the message was during the first intermission. “Could see we started to turn the game there in the second. We had a lot of shifts in their end, a lot of good changes and getting fresh guys against some of their tired guys was a huge momentum swing.”

With the Original Six clubs at 4-on-4, Max Domi skated to the slot and sent in a wrist shot that beat Talbot to make it 3-3 at 2:38 of the third period.

The Red Wings retook the lead less than five minutes later thanks to Raymond’s second goal of the game and 100th of his NHL career. Assisted by Kane and DeBrincat, Raymond capped a tic-tac-toe passing play in the left face-off circle for a big man-advantage strike to make it 4-3 at 6:45 of the third period.

“It’s fun,” Raymond said about the milestone. “Didn’t know about it, but it’s cool. You don’t take that stuff for granted. Always fun to score, so look to keep that going.”

Jumping on the opportunity after Toronto pulled Stolarz late, Simon Edvinsson scored an empty-net goal at 18:12 of the third period to make it 5-3. Talbot had the lone assist, which was his eighth career NHL helper and first since April 15, 2024.

With five seconds left in the contest, Andrew Copp’s empty-net goal sealed Saturday's 6-3 final.

“Even when you win the game or see that empty net go in by Simon, there’s definitely a feeling of relief,” Kane said. “Big kill there at the end. Talbs had some great saves and blocked shots to keep it at 4-3. Definitely a big win for us.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will conclude their home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs when they both take the ice at Scotiabank Arena on Monday afternoon.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on Detroit’s ability to play the way it did on Saturday

“I think this team knows it can play that way. I believe they were all, to a man, really disappointed in what transpired the other night. But now, they got rewarded for fixing it and doing the work. We’ve got to bottle that type of game up and continue on with it.”

Kane on Saturday’s win

“I thought we had a decent start, to be honest with you, in the first. You find yourself down 2-0, it’s a little disappointing, but I think it speaks volumes of the group with what we went through the past couple days – not being at the top of our game and having a great start. But to bounce back being down 2-0 and come out of the second being up 3-2 is obviously an ideal situation for us. I know it’s two games into the season, but we proved we can turn the corner when we face adversity.”

Kane on Raymond’s continued growth

“I think he’s just progressing every day and game. Obviously, each year I’ve been here, he just gets better and better. The thing you love about him is he wants to be the best. He puts the work in, whether it’s during practice or off the ice. Finding ways to better himself.”

Raymond on the club’s urgency to fix its mistakes from Opening Night

“We’ve been in situations a couple years now, where it comes down to the end and the margins are very thin. It’s about getting off to a good start, putting ourselves in a good position and getting good habits. We got all the tools in this locker room and around us to be a really good hockey team. We have the confidence to have it as well.”