Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings Beat Maple Leafs In Kasper Debut

Marco Kasper won his NHL debut as Detroitt beat Toronto.

Published

1 year ago

April 2, 2023

Bob Duff

Detroit Red Wings teammates Marco Kasper and Dylan Larkin can check off another item on the list of things that they have in common.

Both are centers, both were first-round picks of the Red Wings in their draft year, and each of them was a winner over the Toronto Maple Leafs in their NHL debuts.

Larkin and the Red Wings were 4-0 winners over the Maple Leafs on Oct. 9, 2015 at Joe Louis Arena. Kasper managed to earn his first NHL win on the road. Detroit downed Toronto 5-2 on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.

It's the Captain giving the Red Wings a 3-1 lead!#LGRW | @ThinkFordFirst @Dylanlarkin39 pic.twitter.com/eLhSGQbnP8

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) April 2, 2023

Kasper couldn’t emulate Larkin and score the game’s first goal like Larkin did in his NHL bow against Toronto. The Maple Leafs were holding the Austrian teenager off the scoresheet in his first NHL game.

However, it was certainly an eventful opening period for Kasper. He caused Toronto be awarded a first-period penalty shot after closing his hand on the puck in the Detroit goal crease during a goalmouth scramble. Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was able to foil Leafs forward David Kampf on the free shot attempt.

Later in the frame, Kasper drew a penalty when he was tripped by Toronto forward Wayne Simmonds. For the night, Kasper skated 14:59, had one shot and three hits. He was a disappointing 1-for-7 in the faceoff circle.

Career High For Red Wings Larkin

Detroit captain Larkin actually was producing a hat-trick in the win, giving him 31 goals on the season. Larkin was setting a career best with 32 goals in 2018-19. The three goals on the night put Larkin at a career high of 76 points. It was his second NHL hat-trick.

Jonatan Berggren and defenseman Olli Maatta also scored for Detroit, which led 3-1 after the opening frame. Detroit got a goal and four assists from its rearguard. It was former Red Wings prospect Calle Jarnkrok who was the scorer of Toronto’s first goal.

Nedeljkovic made 42 saves for his second straight victory.