Red Wings Look to Bounce Back as Home Underdogs in Rivalry Showdown with Maple Leafs

The Detroit Red Wings look for bounce back performance when hosting one of their biggest rivals in the Toronto Maple Leafs in a primetime showdown.

It was a season opener to forget for the Red Wings as they wanted to make it as memorable as possible for the start of the franchise’s 100th season but it quickly soured late in the first period. After defensive lapses led to an early 3-1 deficit heading into the second, the Wings couldn’t recover as they eventually lost 5-1 while debuting their new Centennial uniforms.

Detroit looks to bounce back against a familar foe in Toronto. The Red Wings lost game 82 of the 2024-25 season in tragic fashion when blowing a 3-1 lead to the Maple Leafs entering the third period before losing 4-3 in overtime. They look to exact revenge on Saturday as well as make up for their lackluster start to the season.

It’ll be their 688th meeting all-time with the Buds holding the upper hand historically with a 303-285-93-6 record. The rivalry has been neck-and-neck lately, with each team taking three wins in their last six matchups. Saturday night’s showdown will break the deadlock and show who truly owns this series.

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Lineup Storylines

The Red Wings‘ trio of rookies (Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka) held their own in their NHL debuts, avoiding costly mistakes, though their overall impact was more limited than Detroit bench boss Todd McLellan had hope. Brandsegg-Nygård saw his chances including a low slot chance that saw Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes turn the puck away.

Sandin-Pellikka played heavy minutes in the season opener (3rd-most on the team at 22:34) while Finnie wasn’t given many opportunities to show what he has to offer as his linemates in captain Dylan Larkin and star winger Lucas Raymond spent a sizeable amount of time working the special teams. The trio will look to have a more impactful game on a big stage like a Saturday night primetime game against a fierce original six rival.

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This will be Detroit‘s first look at a Toronto team without Mitch Marner as the 28-year-old superstar winger left for the Vegas Golden Knights in free agency, giving the Maple Leafs more cap space to add more players. In the process, the Buds added Utah Mammoth winger Matias Maccelli to take over Marner’s role on the top line while lower in the lineup they added Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua and got back from the Golden Knights, Nick Roy as part of a sign-and-trade for Marner.

Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)

DET ML (+118) | TOR ML (-142)

DET +1.5 (-200) | TOR -1.5 (+165)

O/U 6.0 Goals

When the Red Wings and Maple Leafs face off it usually means fireworks as the two clubs have totaled six or more goals in 16 of their last 23 matchups. That means relying on certain players to find the back of the net and for the Red Wings, there’s no better bet than their top scorer, Alex DeBrincat. After generating several high-danger chances in the season opener, the Michigan native looks poised for a breakout performance. The 27-year-old also has a strong track record against the Maple Leafs, posting three goals and three assists for six points over his last seven meetings with Toronto.

On the Maple Leafs’ side, their key forwards all made an impact in the opener, highlighted by William Nylander’s standout performance with a goal and two assists for a three-point night. This time, though, it could be the captain’s turn to take over. Auston Matthews has scored in three straight games against the Red Wings and has dominated this matchup historically, tallying 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in his last 23 contests versus Detroit.

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