The Toronto Maple Leafs pounded the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Friday night at the Little Caesars Arena. Mitch Marner’s third career hat trick highlighted the night as the Leafs showed no signs of a Christmas hangover.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were all business as they played their third game without Auston Matthews after the team captain re-aggravated an existing injury.
Most importantly, the win puts the Leafs back atop the Atlantic Division. The Leafs win tied them with the idle Florida Panthers for the division lead with 46 points.
In addition to Marner’s hat trick, David Kampf scored his first goal of the season. It was a long time coming. Kampf has struggled offensively while also spending time on the shelf this season. Nick Robertson also got on the board, scoring his sixth of the season.
All in all, the Leafs played great hockey for 40 minutes. They were on cruise control, chasing Detroit starting goaltender Cam Talbot during the second intermission. However, the third period was less than convincing.
The Wings were looking to make a good impression on new coach Todd McLellan. So, the Wings came out hard in the third, pushing to get back into the game. For a while, the Leafs looked outplayed. Plus, taking two penalties didn’t help as the Wings got on the board with a power play goal from Lucas Raymond.
Despite being outshot 8-2 in the third, the Leafs did a good job of locking down the game. The Leafs withstood the pressure and sent the Wings packing. It was an encouraging win, especially after the way the Leafs were outplayed in their last outing against the Winnipeg Jets.
Toronto Maple Leafs Spoil Todd McLellan’s Red Wings Debut
Todd McLellan made his debut as Red Wings coach on Friday night against Toronto. McLellan was hired earlier this week after the Wings decided to cut ties with former coach Derek Lalonde.
Interestingly enough, McLellan had been a finalist for the Toronto Maple Leafs vacancy this summer. Reportedly, the Leafs had considered McLellan before ultimately deciding to hire Craig Berube. Thus far, it seems hiring Berube was the right call.
Unfortunately for McLellan and the Wings, they ran into a stone Woll they couldn’t get past. The defeat spoiled McLellan’s coaching debut.
But there is one point I’d like to make: The Red Wings didn’t quit. They were seemingly down and out in the third period. Had it not been for Woll holding down the fort, the Red Wings could have made the game interesting.
They got away with one against Detroit. But had the Leafs played a much stronger team, there’s no telling if that five-goal lead could have evaporated.
Let’s see how the Leafs come out against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night as the Leafs play on back-to-back nights.