It was a Saturday night in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs got their revenge! The blue and white defeated the Red Wings 5-1 in their preseason finale at Scotiabank Arena. This was the second game of a back-to-back between the two teams after the Red Wings 4-2 victory Friday night. The Maple Leafs started slowly in this one but cruised through after taking the momentum and never looking back.
In the opening period, it was the Detroit Red Wings who opened up the scoring. Red Wings forward Pius Suter received a nifty backhand pass from Adam Erne and made no mistake putting one up high on Matt Murray from the slot. After Detroit took the lead, it was only ten minutes until Leafs forward William Nylander cruised into the slot and raised one blocker side. After Nylander scored his third preseason goal, it was a pretty evenly matched period going into the second.
As the second period kicked off, it was routinely quiet until the Leafs forward Denis Malgin scored a beautiful goal. Malgin took a short pass from the Maple Leafs Alex Kerfoot and skated through the heart of the Red Wings coverage, setting himself up on a breakaway. Malgin made no mistake in the finish with some slick hands before putting it away just under the glove of Olkinuora. After Malgin’s highlight reel goal, the period continued to fall in the right direction for the Maple Leafs. The blue and white couldn’t get a goal before the third but certainly captured momentum.
When the puck dropped for the third frame, the Maple Leafs wasted no time adding to their lead. After peppering Olkinuora to end the period, Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews put the Leafs up a pair. A beautiful vintage Auston Matthews goal on the power-play set up by no other than Leafs forward Mitch Marner. After Auston’s bullet of a shot hit the back of the net, it was William Nylander who got his second. A lucky miss by Alexander Kerfoot led to a clear shooting lane for William Nylander, who made no mistake. As the game started to pull into the Maple Leafs favor, it wasn’t over just yet. Auston Matthews added one more on the power play after a pileup in front led to Morgan Rielly setting one up for the Maple Leafs sniper. After the blue and white’s fifth goal, the period settled down as the Leafs cruised to victory.
The Maple Leafs wrapped up their preseason with lots of positives to take away. The team finished with a 5-2-0 record through their seven games, on top of some really nice performances. Denis Malgin comes to mind first after watching this game tonight. The speed-driven winger made no mistake on his opportunity this preseason. Tonight’s goal showed the speed and creativeness he can bring to the blue and white’s NHL roster at a reasonable price. Matt Murray was also productive tonight as he cruised through this one making nineteen saves on twenty shots. Murray is projected to start the season opener on Wednesday when the team travels to Montreal.
The Maple Leafs have finally gotten through the preseason without any major setbacks. This team looks well prepared for the big season ahead, which should be exciting for all members of Leafs nation. The uncertainty around General Manager Kyle Dubas, The team’s postseason struggles, and the gamble in goal. This team is going to be fun to watch, So buckle up.
Thanks for reading! For more Leafs content and news, follow me on Twitter @JANS8LMO.
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