Maple Leafs 4, Red Wings 1
Tyler Bozak scored a pair of third-period goals as host Toronto avenged a pair of early-season defeats to Detroit.
Bozak snapped a 1-1 tie with a short-handed breakaway goal early in the the third, Leo Komarov had a goal and an assist and Peter Holland notched an unassisted tally as the Maple Leafs won their second in a row and halted a skid of four straight defeats to the Red Wings. Bozak scored into an empty net to cap a three-goal third and Jonathan Bernier turned aside 26 shots for Toronto, which saluted its fans following the game after drawing criticism for failing to do so in the previous contest.
Red-hot Tomas Tatar accounted for the only goal for Detroit, which was denied in its bid for a sweep of its three-game road trip. Jimmy Howard made 24 saves in falling to 3-2-2 against Toronto.
Komarov scored his second goal 11 1/2 minutes into the contest, corralling a loose puck at the bottom of the right after Mike Santorelli was taken down before driving the net and beating Howard. Tatar tied it midway through the second period, absorbing a check from defenseman Roman Polak along the right boards before one-timing a cross-ice pass from Xavier Ouellet for his fourth goal in three games.
Detroit went on its second power play early in the third but the Maple Leafs capitalized when Bozak poked the puck past defenseman Niklas Kronwall at the point and sped down the right side before cutting to the net and sending a backhand past the glove of Howard at 3:44. Holland added an insurance tally, forcing a turnover by Gustav Nyquist and racing down the left wing before capping the rush with a perfectly placed shot over the right shoulder of Howard from in tight.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tatar extended his point streak to five games with his eighth tally in 11 games to tie Nyquist with a team-high nine goals. ... Maple Leafs D Polak (lower body) was hurt just before Tatar's first goal, when his left leg got caught after he checked Tatar into the boards. ... Toronto D Cody Franson had his nine-game point streak halted. ... ... Red Wings F Pavel Datsyuk (groin) missed his third straight game - and 10th in 20 contests.