Their third game in four nights yielded no better result than their first two.
Unlike the previous two games this week, the penalty kill was better, allowing one goal — but being short-handed five times disrupted the offensive flow. The Wings got the first goal for a second straight game, but again couldn’t build momentum. In their final four games of 2022, dating back to their last game before the Christmas break, the Wings (16-15-7) averaged 4.75 goals a game while picking up three wins. In their first three games of 2023, they’re 0-3 with four goals total.
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Defenseman Jake Walman argued a questionable tripping call that landed him in the penalty box at 9:48, but his exit from the box two minutes later seemed to go unnoticed by the Leafs; Walman was able to get in behind Toronto’s defense and get off a clean shot that went stick-side on Ilya Samsonov. Defenseman Olli Määttä set up the goal with a pass from deep inside his own zone.
The Leafs were credited with a shot on net late in the first period, getting them to a total of … two. They scored on the third one, though, with Mitch Marner beating Magnus Hellberg 24 seconds into the second period. The Leafs went ahead, 2-1, when John Tavares took a pass from Calle Jarnkrok, deked to his forehand and tipped the puck over Hellberg’s pad.
The Leafs pulled further ahead when Morgan Rielly fired a shot from the left circle and the puck deflected in off the shaft of Pontus Holmberg’s stick. Tavares added a second goal when he scored into an empty net with 1:39 to play. Hellberg finished with 25 saves as the Leafs outshot the Wings, 15-5, in the third period.
While the penalty killers had a good night after allowing four goals the previous two games, the power play went scoreless through more than five minutes of man-advantage time.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings’ offense still slumbering in 4-1 loss to Maple Leafs
