It's a clash of longtime Original Six rivals, as the Detroit Red Wings take their show on the road for their fourth and final meeting this season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Red Wings are already guaranteed a season-series win over Toronto, having already won the first three meetings.
Not only did Detroit beat Toronto by a 6-3 final on Oct. 11, but they followed that up with a 3-2 win two days later thanks to Mason Appleton's goal late in regulation.
In their most recent matchup on Dec. 28, Simon Edvinsson's skilled tally in overtime gave Detroit a 3-2 win at Little Caesars Arena.
The ability to eventually come out on top in closely-contested contests, like the most recently played two games against the Maple Leafs, has been key to the Red Wings' success.
"I do know Talbs (Cam Talbot) stole the game in Toronto," Andrew Copp said of Detroit's 3-2 win on Oct. 13. "It's always a combination of things, I don't know if there is any one secret recipe. They have a lot of good players over there, and they're playing pretty good right now, I think they've been on a good streak like the whole Atlantic Division."
"We're focused on playing well, and we'll make some little changes to whatever system or whatever they're running," Copp continued.
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Goaltender Cam Talbot essentially stole the game for Detroit in Toronto, making 38 saves, while Appleton played the role of late-game hero by scoring the game-winning goal with 44.1 seconds left in regulation to break a 2–2 tie.
Appleton also factored into Detroit's overtime win in late December, scoring the game-tying goal in the third period only seconds after Toronto had taken the lead.
The maturity Detroit has shown is one of the major reasons why they've reached 30 wins through their first 50 games for the first time since 2011-12.
"We've won close games, right? That's the biggest thing when I look back at the second game of the year, we were down a couple and came back," Patrick Kane said. "That game in Toronto, Apps (Appleton) scored a big goal late to give us a 3-2 lead, so I think we've found a way to come out on top of those close games."
Currently, the Red Wings occupy the second overall spot in the Atlantic Division (64 points) behind the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning, who are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs, who have gone 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, are in the sixth spot (56 points).
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