TORONTO – Jake Gardiner scored two goals to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 in pre-season action at Scotiabank Arena Friday night.
Toronto broke Detroit’s six-game winning streak in exhibition as the club prepares for the regular schedule opener on Wednesday night at home to Montreal.
Gardiner posted his second of the pre-season, at 12:47 in the first period, on a power play to break the tie at 2-1, and his second of the contest at 15:41 in the third period.
In under two minutes, Toronto (6-1) posted goals from John Tavares at 14:58, Patrick Marleau at 15:25, and Par Lindholm at 16:41 of the second period.
Nazem Kadri scored the first goal of the game at 1:38 for his second of the pre-season, while Connor Brown, Auston Matthews, and Josh Leivo added a combined total of seven assists.
Detroit’s goals were put up by Gustav Nyquist at 10:21 in the first, who later put up an assist, and Dylan Larkin at 1:10 in the third. Dennis Cholowski added an assist on each.
Frederik Andersen, making his second start in three nights, stopped 23 shots for the Maple Leafs, while Jimmy Howard turned away 19 for the Red Wings before being pulled after 40 minutes for Harry Sateri.
Scotiabank Arena had 18,889 fans in attendance, many of whom chanted “We want the cup” late in the third period.
Detroit (6-1) will be seeking revenge on Saturday night, as pre-season action continues in Red Wing territory.