The Toronto Maple Leafs stunned the Detroit Red Wings with a late rally to win their regular-season finale, 4-3 in overtime at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.
Scott Laughton, the much-maligned trade deadline acquisition, scored 56 seconds into the final frame to lift the Leafs to their 52nd win of the season.
Just a kid from the neighbourhood pic.twitter.com/FNaLvtC24R
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 18, 2025
Here’s a look at the game-winner:
Toronto goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 18, 2025
Scored by Scott Laughton with 04:04 remaining in the OT period.
Assisted by Dakota Mermis and Matthew Knies.
Toronto: 4
Detroit: 3#DETvsTOR #LeafsForever #LGRW pic.twitter.com/BqNLvHpxTq
The Leafs came back from a 3-1 deficit after surrendering three straight goals. Auston Matthews opened the scoring with his 33rd of the season. But then, the Red Wings took over, dominating the second period.
Toronto goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 18, 2025
Scored by Philippe Myers with 16:17 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok.
Toronto: 2
Detroit: 3#DETvsTOR #LeafsForever #LGRW pic.twitter.com/ZrZrHC7bCl
The Leafs seemed flat for most of the night until they turned on the jets. Phillipe Myers scored a brilliant goal at the 3:43 mark of the third period to get the Leafs to within one. Here’s a look at the beauty:
Myers looked like a 50-goal scorer with that move, making players like Matthews and William Nylander jealous.
The Leafs hung tough, tying the game with less than two seconds to go in the third period. Chris Tanev pinched in from the point, taking a sick feed from Mitch Marner. Here’s a look:
Toronto goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 18, 2025
Scored by Chris Tanev with 00:02 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Mitch Marner and Pontus Holmberg.
Toronto: 3
Detroit: 3#DETvsTOR #LeafsForever #LGRW pic.twitter.com/TyodzOr4Pn
Tanev’s goal sent the game to overtime where Laughton scored to get a huge monkey off his back. Laughton seems to be finally getting his groove on with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That bodes well as it will be all hands on deck come Sunday night’s Game 1 playoff matchup.
Marner, Matthews pad their personal stat totals in Toronto Maple Leafs win
Mitch Marner ended the night with two assists. Those two helpers pushed him to 75 on the season and 102 total points. Marner’s assist total placed him third in the Leafs all-time list for assists in a season, trailing the Killer, Doug Gilmour, who registered a team record 95 assists in the 1992-93 season and 84 in 1993-94.
As for captain Auston Matthews, he had a quiet season that saw him blow past the point-per-game mark. He scored his 33rd of the season to go with 45 assists for 78 points in 68 games. Considering how slowly Matthews started, including issues with nagging injuries, he could have easily topped the 100-point mark over a full 82-game season.
Most importantly, Matthews has scored in three straight games. Matthews is heating up at the right time as the Leafs look to roll their five-game winning streak into Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
Overall, Marner and Matthews are firing on all cylinders, something that will be crucial as the club looks to finally go on the long playoff streak Leafs Nation has been clamoring for.