Maple Leafs 2 - 3 Red Wings
Final
  for this game

Nyquist scores twice as Red Wings beat Leafs

Mar 19, 2014 - 3:28 AM Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Gustav Nyquist scored a pair of goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in an Original Six clash.

Daniel Alfredsson also scored and Jimmy Howard stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced for the Red Wings, who have won two of their last three games.

"It's a division rival, big game for us, big win for us. We'll enjoy this for a few hours and then back to work tomorrow," Alfredsson said.

Jake Gardiner and James van Riemsdyk had a goal apiece for the Maple Leafs, losers in three of their last four tilts. James Reimer allowed all three goals on 31 shots.

"It was average. There was some good and bad throughout the five games," Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri said of the team's five-game road trip.

Nyquist's second goal of the game made it 2-0 just 2:06 into the final period. He threw the puck off the boards on the right side around a defender before picking it back up in the Leafs' zone, then skated in and fired a snap shot into the back of the net.

Gardiner cut Toronto's deficit in half with his power-play goal at 8:24 of the third. Morgan Rielly launched a shot wide of the net from near center ice, but Gardiner beat everyone to the disc and wristed it past Howard from point- blank range.

Moments later, Kadri appeared to tie the game with another power-play goal, but upon further review it was determined that Kadri had kicked the puck in and the goal was waved off.

Alfredsson made it 3-1 with his 15th goal of the season with 2:33 left. David Legwand skated in along the left side and threaded a pass under a defender's stick and right to Alfredsson, who blasted the disc past Reimer.

The Maple Leafs made it interesting late, as van Riemsdyk redirected a Dion Phaneuf shot from the point to make it 3-2 with 1:13 left. However, Howard stood strong the rest of the way to seal the win.

Toronto did had a final chance, as van Riemsdyk had a clear look off a faceoff in the closing seconds, but Howard stopped the shot with 3.7 seconds left. The Maple Leafs couldn't get another shot off before the final horn.

Nyquist snuck one through at 12:50 of the first period to open the scoring. After splitting a pair of defenders near the blue line, he rushed in, faked a shot to the left before pulling back and backhanding one into Reimer. It had appeared Reimer made the save, but the puck trickled past and just crossed the line.

Game Notes

The Wings are 4-0-1 over their last five games in Motown ... Alfredsson has 74 points in 83 career games against the Leafs ... Detroit will host Pittsburgh on Thursday before opening a home-and-home series with Minnesota on Saturday ... Toronto fell to 14-15-7 on the road this season ... The Maple Leafs, who play seven of their next nine games at home, host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.






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