Red Wings Edge Maple Leafs 3–2 on Appleton’s Late Goal

Mason Appleton scored with just 45 seconds left to give the visiting Detroit Red Wings a 3–2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday afternoon, marking their second win over Toronto in three days. Appleton, who signed a two-year free-agent deal during the offseason, notched his first goal for Detroit with a sharp shot from the left circle past Anthony Stolarz. The goal came after the Red Wings had squandered a two-goal lead but managed to regain control just in time. James van Riemsdyk also recorded his first goal for Detroit, Dylan Larkin added another, and Cam Talbot was stellar in net with 38 saves. For Toronto, Calle Jarnkrok continued his strong form with a goal in his third straight game, while Matthew Knies contributed a goal and an assist. Stolarz finished with 12 saves for the Maple Leafs.

In other NHL action, Nathan MacKinnon led the Colorado Avalanche to a 3–1 win over the Buffalo Sabres with two goals, while Cale Makar added a goal and an assist. Martin Necas recorded two assists as Colorado extended its season-opening point streak to four games. Buffalo’s Tage Thompson scored his first goal of the season, but the Sabres fell for the third consecutive time. Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves for Colorado, and Alex Lyon turned aside 34 shots for Buffalo.

The Tampa Bay Lightning held off the Boston Bruins 4–3, powered by two first-period goals from Anthony Cirelli. Pontus Holmberg and Yanni Gourde also scored, and Jonas Johansson made 30 saves to help Tampa Bay secure its first victory after a 0–2–0 start. Casey Mittelstadt, Jordan Harris, and Morgan Geekie each scored for Boston, which saw its three-game win streak end. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves as Tampa Bay went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, with Johansson stopping all 10 shots in the third period to preserve the lead.

The Winnipeg Jets earned a convincing 5–2 win over the New York Islanders in Elmont, New York, never trailing throughout the game. Morgan Barron opened the scoring, while Nino Niederreiter, Logan Stanley, Tanner Pearson, and Mark Scheifele also found the back of the net. Eric Comrie made 33 saves for Winnipeg. The Islanders, still seeking their first win of the season, got goals from Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Emil Heineman. Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves in the loss. After Pageau cut the deficit to 2–1 early in the second period, Stanley responded just 14 seconds later to restore Winnipeg’s two-goal cushion.

In Ottawa, Jonathan Marchessault scored his first two goals of the season as the Nashville Predators defeated the Senators 4–1. Ryan O’Reilly and Cole Smith also scored, while Juuse Saros made 31 saves for the win. Ridly Greig netted the only goal for Ottawa, and Linus Ullmark recorded 22 saves. Nashville sealed the victory with two empty-net goals in the closing minutes after Greig had cut the lead to two with just over two minutes left.

It was a packed day of NHL action featuring late heroics, standout goaltending, and breakout performances. From Appleton’s clutch goal in Toronto to MacKinnon’s scoring surge in Buffalo, the league’s early-season intensity is already on full display.