Maple Leafs at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings look to continue their good fortune against the Toronto Maple Leafs when the Original Six rivals conclude their home-and-home series at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday. Aside from a Winter Classic loss to Toronto at Michigan Stadium, Detroit won all three indoor contests last season before skating to a 4-1 triumph in Toronto on Friday. Johan Franzen scored his first two goals of the season before exiting with a cramp in his leg, but he did not rule out playing on Saturday.
Gustav Nyquist extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and captain Henrik Zetterberg notched four assists in the win. "It's fun to score goals, and I've been given an opportunity to play with some great players, so that makes it easier," Nyquist said after Detroit's highest scoring output of the young season. Mike Santorelli's third-period goal was all that was mustered by Toronto, which saw a fan toss the host jersey onto the ice in disgust for the second time this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHLN, CBC (Toronto), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (2-3-0): To add injury to insult, rookie Brandon Kozun exited Friday's contest in the second period after his left leg careened awkwardly into the boards following a check from Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey. Coach Randy Carlyle noted that the injury could be a high-ankle sprain for the 24-year-old, who will undergo an MRI on Saturday rather than travel with the team. Left wing Daniel Winnik suffered an upper-body injury, and his availability is unknown for Saturday's contest.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (2-1-1): Justin Abdelkader benefited from a maintenance day on Thursday to collect a goal and an assist versus Toronto. Coach Mike Babcock confirmed that Jonas Gustavsson will receive his first start on Saturday against his former team. The 29-year-old Swede stopped 19-of-23 shots to pick up the win in his lone career outing versus Toronto, with which he played three seasons to begin his NHL career.
OVERTIME
1. Toronto's Jonathan Bernier is expected to get the nod in net after fellow G James Reimer yielded four goals on 35 shots.
2. The Red Wings went 0-for-5 on the power play after failing to score on all 12 man-advantage opportunities versus the Maple Leafs last season.
3. Toronto D Jake Gardiner logged a team-high 22:12 of ice time after being a healthy scratch in the previous two contests.