Leafs stretch home winning streak to 13
TORONTO — Peeling off his equipment after the media had moved on from his locker-room stall, Nazem Kadri told one of Patrick Marleau’s sons that maybe one day the youngster will be the one sending passes to the Toronto centre. For now, Kadri is just fine getting set up by his ageless linemate.
Kadri scored the winner off a slick feed from Marleau with 7:26 left in regulation as the Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Saturday to stretch their club-record home winning streak to 13 games.
Kadri buried his 29th goal of the season following a backhand saucer pass from Marleau that narrowly missed the skate and stick of sprawling defenceman Luke Witkowski on a 2-on-1 rush.
“Unbelievable,” Kadri said of the pass that helped snap a 3-3 tie. “I knew when he took it to his backhand there was a chance it was coming across.”
The Leafs, who split a tough two-game road trip last week against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators, also tied a franchise high by picking up their 45th win. The precision of 38-year-old Marleau’s feed to clinch that victory left Kadri, who now has seven goals in his last five games at Air Canada Centre, shaking his head.
“Unexplainable,” Kadri said. “Obviously, he had the great vision to put it on my stick. I just tried to find a lane for him to create that pass, but it was all him.”
Kadri, 27, also marvelled at how Marleau continues to excel at his age. “I don’t know how he does it,” Kadri said. “He always seems to contribute.”
Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and William Nylander had the other goals for Toronto (45-23-7), which got 38 saves from Frederik Andersen.
Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Frans Nielsen replied for Detroit (27-37-11).
Jimmy Howard made 25 stops for the Red Wings, who are 1-11-1 over their last 13 games and about to miss the playoffs for the second straight spring after making the post-season 25 years in a row.
“It was a fun game,” said Andersen, who tied a career high with his 35th win of the season. “A lot of different kinds of goals, but a fun game and obviously a good win for us.
“We stepped up a little bit in the third.”