TORONTO (AP) — Disappointed with his play in Detroit’s loss in its last game, Henrik Zetterberg came through in a big way against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Zetterberg had four assists and Johan Franzen scored twice to lead the Red Wings to a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Friday night.
Zetterberg managed just one shot on goal and was outworked on faceoffs by Boston’s Patrice Bergeron in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Bruins on Wednesday night.
“The way we played Wednesday in our house against Boston … it could’ve been one of my worst games as a Red Wing,” Zetterberg said. “It was a tough game and I didn’t have much. It was nice to feel better today and bounce back a little bit.”
Gustav Nyquist and Justin Abdelkader also scored and Jimmy Howard stopped 23 shots for Detroit.
Franzen left the game late in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. However, he expected to play Saturday when the teams complete the home-and-home series at Detroit.
“It just cramped up, the whole side, a really tight spasm,” Franzen said. “It relaxed a little bit, I got out for the next shift and it just seized up on me. As soon as I pushed it just cramped up on me, so hopefully it goes away tomorrow.”
Nyquist’s fourth goal in four games made it 3-0 with 1:44 to go in the second period.
Mike Santorelli scored for Toronto, ending Howard’s shutout bid in the opening minute of the third period. James Reimer finished with 31 saves for the Maple Leafs.
“I don’t think we played up to the standard that we’re capable of, and myself included,” said Reimer, who was making his third straight start. “I got to find a way to come up with a couple big saves there to keep it close.”
Toronto coach Randy Carlyle, though, absolved his goaltender of much of the blame in this loss.
“Two goals were goal-mouth passes so we obviously missed assignments,” Carlyle said. “You can’t blame your goalie for scoring from the crease, tap-ins.”
Jonathan Bernier is expected to start for the Leafs in the rematch, and Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said former Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson will get the nod for the Red Wings.
Detroit got on the board with their third shot exactly midway through the first period. Roman Polak gave the puck away to Zetterberg behind the net and he made a slick cross-crease pass to Franzen for his first of the season.
The Red Wings made it 2-0 at 5:42 of the second thanks in part to a badly-timed change by Morgan Rielly that left defensive partner Jake Gardiner exposed. Zetterberg skated by Gardiner in front of the net and waited out Reimer until the goalie went down and he found Franzen for his second of the night.
A few minutes later, the Leafs lost Brandon Kozun to a scary left leg injury. Checked by Kyle Quincey, Kozun’s left leg hit awkwardly against the end boards, and he spent several minutes down on the ice before leaving with some help.
Carlyle said Kozun will have an MRI on his left ankle Saturday, something that means either Matt Frattin or Carter Ashton will be in the lineup in Detroit. It could be both if forward Daniel Winnik, who left the game with an upper-body injury, is also unable to play.
The Red Wings padded their lead on another heads-up play by Zetterberg late in the second. Zetterberg beat Polak to the puck after Jakub Kindl flipped it in and fed it to a streaking Nyquist, who shot it under Reimer’s left pad.
Santorelli got the Maple Leafs on the scoreboard 21 seconds into the third period. After taking a pass from Leo Komarov, Santorelli scored his first goal with the Leafs on a back-hander short side.
Abdelkader capped the scoring with his second goal of the second at the 5:51 mark.
Frustrations piled up for the Leafs, including captain Dion Phaneuf, who tried more than once to fight but never got the chance. He took a roughing penalty in the third, minutes before a fan tossed his jersey over the glass and onto the ice.
“Any time you lose in the National Hockey League, as players, we’re not happy about it,” Phaneuf said. “The fans have a right to be upset. They come to support us, they want to see winning hockey and we want to win for them. But when we don’t play well, it’s unfortunate when jerseys are thrown on the ice.”
NOTES: This was the first of eight Friday night games for the Leafs this season and first of three at home. In the past nine seasons, dating to the 2004-05 lockout, Toronto hosted a total of three Friday night games. … Several new Canadian citizens were sworn in at a ceremony at center ice earlier in the day, and they helped anthem singer Doug Tranquada sing “O Canada.”
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