RECAP: Red Wings fall in Toronto, 3-1

TORONTO -- The Detroit Red Wings left Scotiabank Arena feeling like they left one slip away after falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1, on Friday night.

Goalie Cam Talbot made his third straight start for the Red Wings (6-6-1; 13 points), finishing with 17 saves. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz stopped 21 shots for the Maple Leafs (8-5-2; 18 points), who will visit Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 14 for the next game in the season series between the Original Six rivals.

Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde described Friday’s loss as a “low-event-type game.”

“Going to be a frustrating result in the fact that you don’t give up a 5-on-5 goal, and you don’t execute in some situations,” Lalonde said. “A missed opportunity. This was an opportunity to take some points here in a tough building, and we were unable to execute in some situations.”

Nick Robertson appeared to give Toronto a quick lead just 2:01 into the first period, but Detroit challenged for goaltender interference on the play and the call on the ice was overturned following video review.

The Red Wings are now 3-for-3 on coach’s challenges this season, and 8-for-8 since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

But with the Maple Leafs on the power play later in the opening frame, Mitch Marner put home his own rebound after Talbot had made the initial save to make it 1-0 at 11:12.

“They had a great drop pass by Morgan Rielly, then Marner made a great play,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “You expect that out of him. We tried to keep it to the outside, and we didn’t do that.”

Detroit earned its first power play of the game in the final minute of the first period, which carried over into the start of the second, but couldn't convert.

On another man-advantage opportunity just past the midway point of the second, the Red Wings tied things up when Larkin’s rocket of a shot from the left face-off circle found twine to make it 1-1 at 9:10. Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat had the assists on Larkin’s team-leading ninth goal of the season, which also pushed the 28-year-old captain's goal streak to four straight games.

Detroit was penalized for having too many men on the ice not long after Larkin’s NHL-leading sixth power-play tally of the season, and Toronto capitalized when John Tavares scored a man-advantage goal of his own to make it 2-1 at 11:01 of second period.

“Power play was good," Lalonde said. "Obviously we needed it, but very frustrating. We get it to 1-1 and had a really good start to the period. You can kind of feel momentum going our way, then we took a too-many-men penalty. That broke the play and it ends up in the back of our net. All this momentum turns into a deficit, now you’re chasing the game in the third.”

Tavares’ second goal of the night was also deflating for the Red Wings, as the veteran forward forced a turnover just inside Detroit’s blue line and deposited the puck into an empty net at 18:30 of the third period to ensure the win for the Maple Leafs.

“We always pull our goalie on the rush,” Lalonde said. “Analytically, you want the six guys on the rush on the entries. Your numbers go through the roof with having six guys, so it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was part of that execution – tried to drop pass in that situation, fanned on it and unfortunately it ended up in the back of our net.”

Detroit went 1-for-3 on the power play but couldn’t stop Toronto on either of its two chances with the man advantage. According to Larkin, special teams proved to be the difference on Friday.

“It was a tight game,” Larkin said. “We got one [power-play goal], but our penalty kill has to find our team momentum. I thought we forechecked well in the second and third periods. We got pinned in our zone a little bit, but we had chances, looks and scrambled pucks. Just didn’t get the next one, and that was the story tonight.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will look to quickly put Friday's loss behind them when they play the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Lalonde on Detroit's penalty kill in Toronto

“Disappointing, but even more frustrating in that they were just two broken plays that unfortunately ended up in our net."

Larkin on how he saw the Maple Leafs' empty-net goal unfold

“Tough play, slow motion almost. Tavares threw it and it went by. Kind of on your backhand side in a weird spot, and a puck that I want back. It just went by. It was slow motion – something that can’t go past me there.”

Larkin on defending Toronto, even without captain Auston Matthews

“Playing in this building, they’re going to swarm, get chances and create off the forecheck. That’s how they play.”