Little Caesars hold off Red Wings in gritty 2-1 victory
The Detroit Little Caesars held off the Toronto Red Wings 2-1 to secure their hard-fought victory in their opening game of the tournament.
The scoring opened in the first period when Gunner Gullstrand (1) put Detroit on the board early in the frame. Then in the second, Massimo Santa Maria (1) extended their lead on the powerplay.
However, Caiden Clair (1) responded just over a minute later for Toronto, quickly cutting the deficit back down to one. The final minutes of the third saw a huge push to net the equalizer, but they could not complete the comeback.
Detroit outshot Toronto 30-22, testing Red Wings goaltender Josh Taylor, who made 28 saves on 30 shots. At the other end of the ice, Detroit’s Daryn Szabo stood tall, stopping 21 of 22 shots to help secure the win and hand Toronto their second loss.
With this victory, Detroit Little Caesars aim to move forward with this momentum, while the Toronto Red Wings will look to get in the win column. Both teams are back in action Tuesday afternoon.
Under Armour Player of the Game:
Toronto Red Wings: Caiden Clair (F) – 1G
Detroit Little Caesars: Massimo Santa Maria (F) – 1G
