Maple Leafs Fall to Red Wings in Detroit
Detroit, MI – The Toronto Maple Leafs faced a tough outing at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night, falling 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings in their 30th game of the season. Despite a valiant effort, the Leafs couldn’t overcome Detroit’s steady offense and sharp goaltending.
The Red Wings opened the scoring midway through the first period when Michael Rasmussen netted his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Jeff Petry and Joe Veleno. Toronto struggled to generate momentum in the opening frame, managing just six shots on Ville Husso, Detroit’s starting goaltender.
Toronto found some rhythm in the second period, capitalizing on a power play opportunity at 11:40. Auston Matthews recorded his 10th goal of the season with assists from Mitch Marner and William Nylander. The momentum, however, swung back to the Red Wings when Moritz Seider scored a late even-strength goal with less than 20 seconds left in the period, assisted by Andrew Copp and Patrick Kane.
Back at it tomorrow@LGCanada | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/yIsP82Q1lq
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 15, 2024
The third period began with a flurry of action. Toronto’s Matthew Knies tied the game at 2-2 just over a minute in, marking his 11th goal of the campaign. Marner and Jake McCabe contributed assists on the play. However, Detroit quickly regained the lead 44 seconds later when Petry tallied his first goal of the season, assisted by J.T. Compher.
Detroit sealed the win with an empty-net goal from Lucas Raymond at 19:58, with Dylan Larkin registering the lone assist.
The Maple Leafs had a strong showing from Mitch Marner, who picked up two assists and was named the third star of the game. However, Toronto’s goaltending and defensive lapses proved costly. Joseph Woll, who took the loss, made 21 saves on 25 shots.
Special teams played a role, with Toronto converting one of two power-play opportunities, while Detroit was unable to capitalize on their three chances with the man advantage.
Next up, the Maple Leafs return home to face the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, December 15.
