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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings took two periods to become acclimated to playing in the elements at Exhibition Stadium, but the two Atlantic Division squads put on a show in arguably the most entertaining period of the nine-year outdoor series.
The two clubs combined for seven third-period goals before rookie Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the game at 3:40 of overtime to give the Leafs 5-4 victory at the 2017 Centennial Classic on New Year’s Day.
Matthews notched his 19th and 20th goals of the year, taking sole possession of the NHL rookie scoring lead over Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine.
Leo Komarov, Mitch Marner and Connor Brown scored for Toronto, who won their fifth game in a row to move to within three points of third place Boston in the Atlantic and the Philadelphia Flyers for an Eastern Conference wild card spot.
Toronto had the advantage in the opening 20 minutes, outshooting Detroit 10-9, but the Wings were the first to get on the scoreboard, as rookie Anthony Mantha snapped a shot over the glove hand of goalie Frederik Andersen.
The Leafs showed a level of desperation in the third and quickly tied the game, as Jake Gardiner’s centering pass found Komarov, who beat Detroit rookie Jared Coreau and rode the emotional wave of a Matt Martin punch up with Wings forward Steve Ott.
Ref cam of Marner’s goal pic.twitter.com/LLTECt6FoL
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 1, 2017
“I thought we played real well, and then once again, it's 4-1, just get it out of your zone. It was so easy -- like you've seen us do it -- but we got a lesson here tonight.… Leafs coach Mike Babcock said following the game.
Instead of being traumatized by Detroit’s late comeback, the Leafs were able to rebound in the extra frame, as Matthews capped the evening with a nifty backhander past Coreau for the game winner, something that Babcock took with a glass-is-half-full approach.
Auston Matthews OT winner at the Centennial Classic. His second goal of the game. pic.twitter.com/YEA3Rj7ceM
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 1, 2017
“At playoff time in the National Hockey League you're either up one or down one. It's the same every night.… Babcock said. “You've got to love the duress. You've got to love the grind. You've got to love digging in and knowing you're going to get it done, so that was a good opportunity for our team because we haven't had those kind of opportunities.…
#Leafs taking to the ice for the Centennial Classic. pic.twitter.com/V37niz7ofn
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 1, 2017
The Leafs have a few days to recover from the outdoor spectacle, travelling to Washington on Wednesday to take on the Capitals before back-to-back games in Newark on Friday against the Devils and Saturday at ACC against the Montreal Canadiens.
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The Maple Leafs named the top 100 players in the franchise’s history in October and the NHL is doing the same to commemorate the league’s centennial season.
On Sunday, the league revealed 33 players who played in the first 50 years (1917 to 1966) at the Centennial Classic and 12 on that list played for the Maple Leafs.
15 of the 33 players named as part of the NHL's 100 Greatest NHL Players list are also part of The One Hundred recognizing the 100 greatest Maple Leafs. Hockey Hall of Famers Syl Apps, Andy Bathgate, Max Bentley, Johnny Bower, Turk Broda, King Clancy, Charlie Conacher, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Ted Kennedy, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Dickie Moore, Jacques Plante and Terry Sawchuk.
Gretzky, Bower, Bucyk, Keon, Hall and Kelly. A group of hockey immortals. #Leafs #NHL pic.twitter.com/LaLM3VY4qv
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 1, 2017
The others named were: Sid Abel, Jean Beliveau, Hector “Toe… Blake, Johnny Bucyk, Alex Delvecchio, Bill Durnan, Bernie “Boom Boom… Geoffrion, Glenn Hall, Doug Harvey, Gordie Howe, Elmer Lach, Ted Lindsay, Howie Morenz, Henri Richard, Maurice Richard, Milt Schmidt, Eddie Shore and Georges Vezina.
The NHL will unveil the remaining 67 post-expansion players on All-Star weekend in Los Angeles on January 25-27.
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