Preview: Red Wings begin four-game road trip Saturday against Maple Leafs

TORONTO, ONT. -- After an intense, physical battle less than 24 hours ago, the Detroit Red Wings have to refocus, travel north of the border and quickly prepare for an Original Six rivalry on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Saturday's game is the second back-to-back stretch for the Red Wings this season after losing a road game against the Montreal Canadiens, 6-1, last Saturday before bouncing back the next night for a 6-3 road win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.

The Red Wings are hoping for the same fate this time around after suffering a tough, come-from-behind 3-2 overtime loss to the unbeaten Florida Panthers on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The last time the Red Wings played the second game of a back-to-back set on Oct. 24, Dylan Larkin and rookie Lucas Raymond exploded for a combined seven points, including Raymond's first career hat trick. Larkin and Raymond are tied for second among Red Wings scorers this season with eight points apiece.
Rookie defenseman Moritz Seider leads Detroit blueliners in points this season with seven, after securing his seventh assist of the campaign Friday night against Florida, which extended his point streak to four straight games.

With his assist on Friday, Seider joined Dutch Reibel, Dale McCourt and Steve Yzerman as the only Red Wings players in franchise history to record at least seven assists through their first eight career NHL games.
Toronto enters its first matchup of 2021-22 against Detroit at 4-3-1 on the season. The Maple Leafs defeated the Blackhawks in a 3-2 overtime victory on Wednesday after losing four straight games from October 18-25. The Red Wings come in at 4-2-2 this season, picking up five points in their last three games.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Red Wings recalled center Joe Veleno from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Veleno, who will make his season debut with Detroit, played five games last season, earning one goal and an even plus/minus rating in his first NHL action.
This is the first matchup between the Original Six rivals since December 21, 2019, as the two clubs played in separate divisions during the COVID-affected 2020-21 season. The Red Wings went 0-3 against the Maple Leafs in 2019-20 and are looking for their first victory in Toronto in more than 1,000 days.
Leading the Maple Leafs this season is seventh-year center William Nylander with six points (3-3-6). Goalie Jack Campbell has seen a majority of the work between the pipes for the Maple Leafs with six starts, coming into Saturday's game at 3-2-1 with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
Veteran goalies Michael Hutchinson and former Red Wings netminder Petr Mrazek have each made one start in relief for Toronto this season.
The Red Wings' rivalry with the Maple Leafs dates back 94 years, when the Original Six clubs first met in 1927. Toronto is the second-most-played opponent for Detroit all-time, with 672 meetings in the series (behind Chicago with 748 matchups), and the series could not be closer as the Wings are 286-286-93-7 all-time against the Maple Leafs.