The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, two of the NHL’s Original Six teams, rivalry has always been a great one but after tonight, it will take place in a different venue. As the Maple Leafs prepare to face off against the Wings, for the final time at Joe Louis Arena, they are 3-0 against the Red Wings and poised to sweep the season series for the first time since 2011-12. The next time the two teams meet in Detroit will be at Little Caesars Arena, which is set to open this fall.


"The atmosphere has been great every time I've been part of coaching a team in this building, against the Leafs, the atmosphere has been great," said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill. "I expect it to be great again tonight. I know tickets were extremely hard to come by. It's a lot more fun when you win, so hopefully we can make sure we're on the right side of that."

Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin said, “The fans don’t like each other that much. I’m sure the Leafs fans will be fired up tonight."

 Detroit center Dylan Larkin and Toronto center Tyler Bozak battle for the puck in the second period.  Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News
Detroit center Dylan Larkin and Toronto center Tyler Bozak battle for the puck in the second period. Photo: David Guralnick/Detroit News

Tonight’s matchup is also particularly special for Toronto head coach Mike Babcock, who spent 10 years of his career at the Joe.

"I don't know how historic this game is but the last one is going to be something, to say the least, this season and how special the Joe is," said Babcock. "As much as the building is special it's the people that make it special, from Al Sobotka, who drives the Zamboni, to Leslie, who hands out the food to Frankie who brings the coaches a beer to all the guys that do the cleaning, to the Ilitch family."

Brendan Shanahan Skates One Last Time at the Joe

Brendan Shanahan, ice hockey executive and former Red Wings who currently serves as the president and alternate governor for the Maple Leafs, borrowed Babs skates and grabbed a right-handed stick from Leaf rack, picked up some equipment and played one last scrimmage with pals at Joe.

In their last 12 games, the surging Leafs own a 9-2-1 record to move within one point of third-place Boston Bruins and just two points of second-place Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division and four points clear of missing this year’s playoffs. During this amazing stretch, the Leafs, led by three of the top four rookie scorers in the league featuring Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, have allowed two or fewer goals in 10 games and have gone 3-0-1 in one-goal games, the only setback they suffered was a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to the visiting Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks at the Air Canada Centre.

Maple Leafs rookie sensation forward Matthews recently told the Toronto Sun, "These games were a struggle for us at the beginning of the year.  At this stage of the season to close out close games is definitely a positive sign for us."

This year, the Red Wings, playing the role of spoiler, are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Most of the Toronto Maple Leafs can't remember the last time the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs. In fact, fifteen members of the current leafs team weren't born when the Red Wings most recently failed to qualify for postseason play in 1989-90.

Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist Strikes First

Despite their record, Detroit struck first at 14:50 when right winger Gustav Nyquist snapped in a wrist shot to notch his 11th goal after he collected a sweet pass from Frans Nielsen, then ripped one past Frederik Andersen's shoulder to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.

 Detroit center Gustav Nyquist keeps the puck away form Toronto center Zach Hyman in the second period.  Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News
Detroit center Gustav Nyquist keeps the puck away from Toronto center Zach Hyman in the second period. Photo: David Guralnick/Detroit News

After 20 minutes of play which featured fast-paced first period end-to-end action, the Red Wings outshot the Leafs 16-9, and led on the scoreboard by a one-goal margin.

Auston Matthews Beats Jimmy Howard and Ties the Game

At 2:56 during a Maple Leafs power play with defenseman Niklas Kronwall off for a minor penalty, Matthews, the first player chosen in the 2016 NHL entry draft and set a club-record with 36 goals shattering Wendel Clark's previous mark of 34, tied the game when he threaded the needle with a short-side goal on Jimmy Howard collecting his 37th of the season assisted by Leo Komarov and Nikita Zaitsev.

At 13:53, Marner received a great pass from defenseman Connor Carrick and scored his 18th when he beat Howard top-shelf and put the Leafs ahead in the second period 2-1. Just prior to the goal, Wings Andreas Athanasiou took a stick in the face and went to the locker room.

Nylander found a way through traffic and calmly skated down the ice, then deposited his 22nd goal of the season at 15:08 with a nifty wrist shot into the back of the net to give the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead.

At 16:42, Redwings defenseman Nick Jensen’s initial backhand was stopped by Andersen, but he grabbed his own rebound and chipped his fourth goal home to bring the Red Wings within one at 3-2.

After 40 minutes of play, the Wings continued to outshoot the Leafs 28-20 but trailed on the scoreboard by a one goal margin at the intermission.

Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg Collected his 50th Assist of the Season

At 14:41, Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall scored only his second goal on a great pass from Henrik Zetterberg, who collected his 50th assist on the year. The goal tied the game at 3-3 late in the third period.

Then at 17:34, Leafs left winger James van Riemsdyk located a deflected puck in front and backhanded it past Howard, giving him his 25th goal and Toronto a 4-3 lead late in the 3rd period.

With just 1:09 seconds left, Matthews swept a rebound home to score his second goal of the game, tying Neal Broten for most goals by a U.S.-born rookie with 38.

With just 44.2 seconds left, defenseman Mike Green ripped a one-timer from the high slot for his 14th, which went off the post and in to pull the Red Wings within a goal.

Maple Leafs Continue their Race into the Playoffs

With the 5-4 win, the Leafs swept the season series against the Wings but more importantly moved into a second-place tie with the Senators and surpassed the Bruins by one point for third place in the Atlantic Division.

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