Recap: Detroit falls short in comeback attempt in 5-4 loss to Toronto

TORONTO, ONT. -- When teams surrender goals with under 30 seconds left in a period, it can be extremely deflating, and that was the case for the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night as they gave up goals in the 20th minute of the first and second periods, leading to a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Jake Muzzin scored with 13 seconds to go in the first period, Michael Bunting scored a power-play goal with 18 seconds left in the second and the Maple Leafs added three goals in the third period to earn the win.

Former Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek made 27 saves to earn his first win of the season in his ninth career appearance against the team that drafted him in 2010.
Filip Zadina and Vladislav Namestnikov each scored, while Joe Veleno earned his second NHL goal in his 2021-22 debut and Filip Hronek scored his first goal of the season, but it wasn't enough as Detroit fell to 4-3-2 on the season.

Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss made 33 saves, but Toronto prevailed to improve to 4-4-1 overall.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill was proud of his team's effort, but isn't satisfied with moral victories.
"We didn't go away, but we don't want to be close," Blashill said after the game. "Ultimately, we were too loose defensively. We kept grinding, we did create chances, but we don't want to trade chance for chance, especially against a team as talented as Toronto. We've got to make sure we tighten up."

With the Red Wings playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing, 3-2, in overtime on Friday night to the Florida Panthers, Detroit and Toronto exchanged several quality scoring chances in the first period, with a back-and-forth frame that saw both goalies stand tall.
It appeared the game would be scoreless into the first intermission, but at 19:47 of the opening frame, Muzzin took a pass in the left slot from T.J. Brodie, transferred the puck from skate to stick and fired a knuckler toward a traffic-filled net that beat Greiss to give Toronto a 1-0 lead after the first.
Toronto controlled the pace to start the second period, but John Tavares took a slashing penalty at 6:49 and Detroit took advantage of its first power play of the game.
After rookie defenseman Moritz Seider turned the puck over, which led to a Maple Leafs shorthanded breakaway chance, Seider made up for his mistake, sending a pass in the slot to Filip Zadina who buried a shot from the right slot that beat Mrazek and tied the game at 1-1 with 11:41 to go in the second.

The goal was Zadina's first since Detroit's second game of the season on October 16. Seider's assist put him in a two-way tie for third on the Red Wings with eight points and extended his point streak to five straight games.
Again, it appeared the game would be tied going into the second intermission, but just like the first period, Toronto scored with less than 30 seconds left in the frame on Bunting's power-play tally at 19:42 to take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room.
The game picked up a lot of steam in the third period as the two clubs combined for six goals, beginning with the Maple Leafs picking up right where they left off.
Just 17 seconds into the final frame, Tavares gathered the puck behind the net and quickly threw a perfect pass to an uncovered Alexander Kerfoot right on the doorstep, and Kerfoot converted to extend the Maple Leafs' lead to 3-1. Toronto's two goals were 35 seconds apart.
The teams exchanged two more goals apiece as Veleno and Hronek each scored their first goals of the season, but Tavares' goal was his third point of the game and Mitchell Marner tallied his first goal of the season to shut the door for Toronto.
Veleno was called up to the Red Wings from the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday morning. The center had to travel to Detroit and get tested for COVID-19, and then drove to Toronto with executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman.
Blashill said he was pleased with Veleno's performance, especially considering the circumstances.
"He was good in the third. It took a little bit to get his feet underneath him, which is understandable considering he had a day of travel, but I thought he played well," Blashill said. "He's got strength on the puck, he's got a good skillset, so we thought he could come in and give us our best chance to fill in for the guys that were missing."
Veleno said he felt comfortable in his season debut with Detroit and felt better as the game progressed.
"I felt pretty good," Veleno said. "The legs weren't all there in the first period, but I think in the second period, I had a better response and I think I got better as the game went on. It was just nice to be on the ice, suiting up for my first game this year and hopefully, it can continue into the future."

Michigan native Jordan Oesterle made his Red Wings debut on Saturday night and assisted on Namestnikov's goal in the third period.

Detroit continues its four-game road trip on Tuesday night against another Original Six rival in the Montreal Canadiens.
Puck drop for Tuesday's matchup from the Bell Centre is set for 7 p.m., with the action broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit Plus and the Red Wings Radio Network.