Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin scored at 3:07 of overtime to give Detroit a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. For the 29-year-old, it was his 12th career overtime goal, tying Sergei Fedorov for the most in franchise history, and his third overtime game-winning goal of the season. Larkin also assisted on Simon Edvinsson's first-period goal, giving him a two-point night.
The Red Wings' win completed a four-game season series sweep over their Original Six rival, the first regular-season sweep of Toronto by Detroit in a minimum four-game series since 1995-96. The Red Wings improved to 31-16-4, moving into a first-place tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division, though Tampa Bay has three games in hand. Detroit has been strong recently, going 18-5-2 over its past 25 games and 8-2 in overtime this season.
John Gibson continued his outstanding season, stopping 30 shots for his seventh consecutive win and improving to 16-2-0 in his last 18 starts. His performance included crucial saves on the Maple Leafs forwards John Tavares and Auston Matthews, helping the Red Wings maintain control through regulation and overtime.
Toronto struck first at 4:46 of the opening period when Scott Laughton redirected a mishandled shot from Calle Jarnkrok past Gibson, giving the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead. Detroit responded with 17.7 seconds left in the first, when Lucas Raymond's pass found Edvinsson, who scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. The second period saw Toronto outshoot the Red Wings 14-7, including a late penalty shot for Laughton after being hooked on a partial breakaway, which he failed to convert. Detroit outshot the Maple Leafs 13-5 in the third and 6-0 in overtime.
Defenceman Moritz Seider, who forced a turnover in the neutral zone, set up the game-winning goal by feeding Larkin on a two-on-zero rush. Larkin executed a backhand-to-forehand shot past Joseph Woll to secure the victory.
Toronto dealt with injury concerns as defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson departed early in the first period with a lower-body injury, and forward William Nylander remained out for a third straight game because of a groin issue.
The Maple Leafs fell to 24-17-9, having lost two of their last five games, and will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will continue their road trip on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
