Red Wings Rally in Third Period, Beat Maple Leafs, 4-2

TORONTO — After an eventful day, Andrew Copp made it a good night for the Red Wings.

Copp scored for the third time in as many games to help lift Detroit past Toronto, 4-2, on Sunday.

Copp took a pass from Michael Rasmussen with 1:40 remaining to beat Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov, who had frustrated the Wings with numerous big saves the first two periods.

“We were trying to keep it simple with two minutes left,” Copp said. “You don’t want to do anything too crazy. Ras found me on a great pass. Kind of had to out-wait a few guys sliding and then put it in. ”

Daniel Sprong tied the game with a backhand shot early in the third and Lucas Raymond put it out of reach with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

The win lifted the Wings into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, a p0int ahead 9f Tampa Bay.

Kane Injured Early

The Red Wings lost Patrick Kane in the first period to a lower-body injury. He t0ok  hits on each of his first two shifts and did not return.

After a sc0reless first period, Toronto got on the board in the opening seconds of the second period on a goal by Pontus Holmberg. That stood until Dylan Larkin tied it with 4:21 left in the period. But the Leafs retook the lead when Mitch Marner scored with less than two minutes left in the period.

The Red Wings continued their strong defensive play as of late. James Reimer made his first start in nearly three weeks and had a much better result. He had all0wed five or more goals in fivre of his previous seven starts. It was hz first start since Dec. 27.

“I’ve been trying to practice hard and stay in it,” Reimer said. “Working on my mindset, a lot, making sure I’m in a good place and setup well, for when I got the opportunity and when I got the opportunity to go out there and play you know, I just do my thing and trust my game.”

The game started nearly an hour late due to Saturday’s snowstorm. The Wings didn’t leave for Toronto until Sunday afternoon and didn’t get to Scotiabank Arena until 6:15 p.m.

“What we could control was our effort and execution tonight.” coach Derek Lalonde said. “And I thought for the most part, guys did a really good job. We just kind of hung in there. And we’ve got a really good performance from James. And that’s a good way for us to points in the road.”

The Red Wings stayed in Toronto Sunday night and were to fly to Florida on Monday. They’ll take on the Florida Panthers on Wednesday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Florida and Carolina are third and fourth, respectively, in the Eastern Conference standings.