In Detroit Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs continued their strong play down the stretch with a 5-3 win over the Red Wings.
James van Riemsdyk picked up the game-winner late in the third period to give the
Leafs a 4-3 lead.
“This is the time of year when you have to give everything you’ve got and put yourself in the best possible position,” van Riemsdyk said. “We’re doing that, but we can’t stop yet. This can still get away from us.”
Auston Matthews, who had two goals on the night, iced with just over a minute left in the game.
The Leafs have 91 points and are tied for second in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators who lost to the Winnipeg Jets Saturday.
“Obviously, we’re all watching the standings, but there’s nothing to say until we clinch a spot,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “We haven’t done that yet.”
Mike Green closed out the scoring with a goal with less than a minute to go in regulation to make the final 5-4.
“We gave them a couple easy chances, and you can’t do that against a team with elite scorers,” Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill said. “We’re leaning on a lot of young guys right now, and there were some coverage issues.”
Gustav Nyquist, Nick Jensen and Niklas Kronwall scored for the Red Wings.
“It was no secret that we wanted to beat those guys in their last trip here. It was a lot of fun, but we didn’t give our fans the result they deserved,” Nyquist said.
Mitchell Marner and Wiiliam Nylander also scored for Toronto.
Frederik Andersen got the win on 38 saves.
WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings highlights
Jimmy Howard took the loss on 22 saves.

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