Detroit Red Wings 6-4 Philadelphia Flyers
The Detroit Red Wings had to show their mettle at home to the Philadelphia Flyers. In the end though, the hosts prevailed 6-4 in an entertaining match. Travis Kocecny only needed 66 seconds to put the visitors in front. Detroit went on the offensive after that, firing 11 shots on goal in the opening period. They got their reward 1:41 before intermission, as J.T. Compher put them level.
Alex De Brincat put the Red Wings in front midway through the second, but the lead would last just 25 seconds before Noah Cates nodded things up at two. Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno added two more towards the end of the frame to give the hosts a 4-2 lead going into the final period.
By the 5:40 mark of the third period, the score was level again. First, Ryan Poehling got his goal, then Owen Tippett brought the game back to parity. Once again, the Red Wings had to push for another goal. They would get that goal less than two minutes later, with Patrick Kane scoring what would be the winner.
Despite having a little less than 15 minutes to find another leveller, this time the Flyers could not work their magic again. Lucas Raymond added an empty net goal with 1:12 to go as Detroit prevailed 6-4.
Both teams remain out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference for now, though the Red Wings now have three wins from their last four games. For Philadelphia, the defeat in Detroit was their second in a row.
Dallas Stars 3-5 Toronto Maple Leafs
In what was an excellent second period showing from the Toronto Maple Leafs, they came out on top 5-3 away to the Dallas Stars. However, it would be the hosts who would go in front five minutes in as Sam Steel got the puck over the line. The Dallas lead would only last for a minute before Max Domi tied things up.
Yevgeni Dadonov put the Stars back in front just 22 seconds into the second period. After that, the Leafs dominated the second stanza, as William Nylander, Nick Robertson, and Bobby McCann scoring within the span of 5:46, putting Toronto up 4-2. The start of the third period would see a change in goal for Dallas, as Casey DeSmith came on for Jake Oettinger.
It took quite a bit of time for Dallas to score again, but they managed to do so with 2:16 left to play. Colin Blackwell got his team back into the match. But, Toronto held on, scoring an empty netter through Nylander to grab the victory.
Dallas stay fifth in the Western Conference, with the loss ending their two-game winning streak. For Toronto, they have now won back-to-back, sitting in third spot in the Eastern Conference.
