DETROIT _ So much for the Detroit Red Wings going into the All-Star break on an encouraging note.
Playing for the second time in two nights played into the lack of energy Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena, but mostly it was the same old story: A non-threatening power play, mediocre goaltending from Petr Mrazek, carelessness with the puck. Instead of feeling good about themselves as they take the next four days off, the Wings get to rue a 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending a six-game point streak.
The Wings were down two goals headed into the third period, and lines were scrambled a bit in response. Justin Abdelkader had an early chance from the left circle, off a pass from Tomas Tatar. Andreas Athanasiou tried to finish a setup by Thomas Vanek. Any chance of a rally dimmed when James Van Riemsdyk fired a shot from the left side of the net that went in off Mrazek, and shut off four minutes later when Nikita Soshnikov scored a goal that Mrazek should have had. Final shots were 28-22 to Toronto.
As can always be counted on when these Original Six rivals meet, there was a loud bipartisan atmosphere, with Toronto fans starting chants and Wings fans responding.
Leafs fans had something to cheer soon after the game began, as usual involving franchise-reviver Auston Matthews, the first overall pick from 2016. A bad matchup had Riley Sheahan's latest line, with Anthony Mantha and Athanasiou on the wings, out against Matthews. Matthews' line dominated in their offensive zone and Matthews stole the puck off Jonathan Ericsson, took a stride and lifted a backhand top shelf, at 5:30.
A Wings power play didn't even result in good zone time, and the best chance of the period came when Mantha dinged a puck off a goal post. Abdelkader took a hooking penalty late to set the Leafs up with 1:49 on a power play to start the second period.
The penalty killers did their usual good job, even skating the puck deep into Toronto's zone twice. At even strength there was little to like, as the Leafs continued to own Detroit's end while goalie Frederik Andersen grew cold. It took a shift from Henrik Zetterberg to gain some offensive zone time, with the Frans Nielsen line following up and drawing another penalty _ not that the power play led to anything.
Sheahan, still searching for his first goal of the season, tried to earn it by digging around in front of the net. The Wings fell further behind when Roman Polak's shot from the blue line deflected in off Ericsson, at 15:35. Mike Green tried to answer with a shot from Toronto's blue line, but despite Vanek in front screening, Andersen caught the puck. Shots after two periods were 19-14 to Toronto.
