Maple Leafs rally but lose Nylander’s debut to Red Wings
Larkin scores in OT after Detroit led by three; returning forward has no points
via NHL.com
Dylan Larkin scored with 2:12 remaining in overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 5-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in William Nylander’s season debut at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Larkin scored on a breakaway off a pass from Gustav Nyquist after the Red Wings gave up three goals in the third period.
“It feels good, 40 minutes we were the better team, we played the way we wanted to come out and play possessing the puck and capitalizing on our chances and moving the puck around,” Larkin said. “All four lines were generating and doing a good job against their big guys. It was 20 minutes where we took our foot off the gas and let their best players come in waves. We could feel it when that happened.”
Nylander had no points playing 12:48 for the Maple Leafs (20-8-1). The restricted free agent forward agreed to a six-year contract Saturday and had not practiced with his teammates.
“It felt OK. There’s a lot of difference from practicing by yourself and with the team back home (in Sweden),” Nylander said. “Started feeling better and the legs were OK, so it felt like an OK first game.”
A very special welcome to members of the @HumboldtBroncos and their families joining us at tonight’s game.
The strength, determination and resilience of the Broncos community is an inspiration to us all. #HumboldtStrong pic.twitter.com/knXNmkx4L7
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 7, 2018