National Hockey League
Toronto 5, Detroit 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, October 11, 2018
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Furman South, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 19515

Auston Matthews scored two goals to increase his league-leading total to nine, and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs topped the winless Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday.

Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist and John Tavares supplied four assists for Toronto. Morgan Rielly added a goal and an assist, Nazem Kadri had two assists, Ron Hainsey chipped in an empty-net goal, and Frederik Andersen made 26 saves.

Defenseman Nick Jensen scored two goals and Dylan Larkin had the other for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard turned aside 30 shots.

Toronto outshot Detroit 11-6 in the first period, but the teams headed to their locker rooms tied at 1-all.

The Red Wings took advantage of a rare four-on-one break to score the first goal. Jensen finished it from the right circle at 7:18 after a feed from Darren Helm.

Detroit got caught in a line change when Toronto evened the score at the 15:48 mark. Marner slid the puck to Rielly, who one-timed it over Howard's shoulder from the right circle.

Toronto took the lead two minutes into the second period. Marner came from behind the Wings' net unchecked and scored in front at 2:00.

After Red Wings defenseman Libor Sulak was whistled for tripping, the Leafs extended their lead to 3-1. Reilly fed the puck from the point to Matthews, who beat Howard on the short side at 7:30.

The Red Wings failed to get a shot on goal for nearly 13 minutes. They were outshot 15-5 during the second.

Jansen scored off his own rebound to make it 3-2 midway through the third period. Andersen made a nice pad save, but the goal was left wide open when the puck caromed back to Jansen, who has scored three of six career goals against Toronto.

Matthews scored on a power play at 11:11 to give the Leafs a little breathing room. Larkin scored during a scramble in front of the net with 6:04 remaining to bring Detroit back within one. The empty-netter with 21 seconds to go ended all suspense.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Detroit
John Tavares 4 Points Nick Jensen 2
Auston Matthews 2 Goals Nick Jensen 2
John Tavares 4 Assists Tyler Bertuzzi 1
Auston Matthews 2 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Frederik Andersen .897 Save Percentage Jimmy Howard .882
Frederik Andersen 26 Saves Jimmy Howard 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Toronto 35 5 2-4 3-3 13 32
Detroit 29 3 0-3 2-4 15 32
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .667 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.