TORONTO — The Detroit Red Wings capped their season by blowing a two-goal lead against a playoff bound team that had nothing to play for but home fans.
The Wings settled for a point Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, falling 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime after leading by a goals with 1.8 seconds to play.
That leaves the Wings 39-35-8 and with 86 points on the 20244-25 season. They’ve been eliminated from the playoff race since last weekend, but finished on a 3-0-1 roll.
Alex DeBrincat scored his 39th goal of the season, sandwiched between goals from Austin Watson and Justin Holl, giving the Wings a 3-1 lead going into the third period. Philippe Myers was able to slip the puck behind Cam Talbot to pull the Leafs within a goal at 3:43 of the third period.
Chris Tanev scored with 1.8 seconds to go in regulation after the Leafs pulled their goaltender – even though the game had no significance in the standings for Toronto. Scott Laughton scored a minute into the extra period.
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101 points
Mitch Marner, a pending unrestricted free agent who should top the Wings’ offseason priority list, picked up point no. 101 of the season when he caught Morgan Rielly’s clearing pass and tapped a backhand for Matthew Knies, who found Auston Matthews for a 1-0 lead at 17:53 of the first period. But the Wings had an answer before the period ended. Holl carried the puck into Toronto’s zone and passed to Watson along the boards. Driving to the net, Watson was able to knock in a backhand despite being off balance.
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Wings pull ahead
Holl added a goal 2:16 into the second period, catching a pass along the boards from Marco Kasper and firing a shot through traffic that eluded Joseph Woll. That was Holl’s second goal of the season. The team’s leading goal-scorer, DeBrincat, made it 3-1 at 5:50, just 44 seconds into a power play, when he one-timed a setup by Moritz Seider.
Petr Mrazek sits
Todd McLellan said on Tuesday that Alex Lyon and Petr Mrazek would split the last two games, and Lyon played in Wednesday’s 5-2 victory at the New Jersey. But it wasn’t Mrazek who started Thursday, it was Talbot who was back in net, with Lyon backing up. A team spokesman said it was a change in plans, and that Mrazek is not injured. The Wings acquired the 33-year-old veteran at the trade deadline with an eye to having him and Talbot share the net next season. Mrazek was injured March 24 at Utah, but was cleared in early April and backed up four straight games from April 10-16.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
