Leafs win, Dermott learns,

There’s a resiliency to the Maple Leafs this season.

And they showed it again Sunday, bouncing back nicely in beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at Little Caesars Arena, a night after dropping a decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Auston Matthews scored the winner with 30.2 seconds left as the Leafs returned to their winning ways. They have won 10 of their last 12 games, and ran their record to 14-7-3 in games following losses.

They could have let this one get away after Henrik Zetterberg scored early in the third to tie, but Matthews was able to pick the corner on Petr Mrazek for the win.

James van Riemsdyk, with his fourth goal in five games, and Mitch Marner, who has nine points in his last five games, also scored for Toronto. Curtis McElhinney won his fourth straight.

Both teams also played Saturday night. And both teams had to travel to Detroit for the game on Sunday, so neither team had an advantage in terms of rest. But one thing the Leafs have done better this year is winning the second of back-to-back games. Last year, they went 6-11-1. They are now 6-4-1 with three more sets to go.

McElhinney — who has started all but one of those second games in two nights — deserves some credit, but so do the regulars, who have matured.

“We’re better,” coach Mike Babcock told reporters in Detroit before the game, the audio posted on the team’s website. “We’ve got better players. We’re older. When you have a better team, you have a better chance.”

McElhinney was terrific in the first period, keeping it scoreless as the Red Wings held a 15-12 shots advantage. The energetic play continued into the second period with the Leafs emerging with a 2-1 lead.

Van Riemsdyk and Marner scored 18 seconds apart in midway through the second period, after Anthony Mantha had scored on the power play at 5:51 to open the scoring.

Mantha scored on a deflection on a shift following one in which Justin Abdelkader had managed to shoot wide (albeit between his legs) to the far side with the net empty and the puck in the crease. Read Kevin McGran’s game analysis and more on the Maple Leafs at thestar.com/sports/breakaway_blog