Santorelli nets shootout winner to give Maple Leafs 2-1 road victory over Red Wings
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mike Santorelli scored Toronto's second shootout goal, and the Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Santorelli, the Maple Leafs' third shooter, got the puck past Jimmy Howard to lift Toronto to its third straight win and even the season series with its Atlantic Division rival.
Tyler Bozak also had a shootout goal for Toronto. Pavel Datsyuk netted the lone goal for the Red Wings in the tiebreaker.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Detroit broke a scoreless tie late in the second period when Tomas Jurco flicked a rebound of his shot to Gustav Nyquist, who spun and wristed the puck past prone goalie James Reimer.
Toronto made it 1-1 early in the third when Phil Kessel tapped in James van Riemsdyk's centering pass for his 15th goal.
Reimer made 41 saves. Howard stopped 18 shots.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Detroit outshot the Maple Leafs 40-16 in regulation but went to overtime after missing on several good chances, including three breakaways. Datsyuk had the best opportunity but shot high late in the first.
Nyquist kept Detroit in the game late in overtime when he knocked away a puck that dribbled toward the goal line after it slid past Howard.
The many Maple Leafs fans inside Joe Louis Arena roared at the end of the first period when van Riemsdyk appeared to score at the horn, but officials quickly ruled that the puck crossed the line after time expired.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NOTES: Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader (shoulder) missed his fifth straight game. ... Toronto forward Leo Komarov also was scratched. He has missed five straight since sustained a concussion on Nov. 28 against Washington. ... The Maple Leafs didn't hold a morning skate on Wednesday after beating Calgary 4-1 on home the night before.