Nylander, Bertuzzi shine in Sweden as Maple Leafs beat Red Wings

William Nylander continued his impressive and torrid stretch to the season with a goal and three points as the Toronto Maple Leafs erased a two-goal deficit to come back and beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in their opening game in Sweden.

All three Maple Leafs goals came in the third period. Nylander’s assist on Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal cut the Red Wings’ lead to 2- 1, extending his point streak to 16 straight games.

Nylander then evened the game with his 11th goal of the season and, for good measure, added his third point by assisting on John Tavares’ go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.

Toronto’s second line dominated the game on Friday. Tavares finished with a goal and two assists, while Bertuzzi added two points and a season-high seven shots on goal. Mitch Marner was the only other Leaf with a point, an assist.

Nylander now has 25 points across 16 games this season and is fourth in the NHL in points behind Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks.

Goalie Ilya Samsonov stopped 28 of 29 shots for Toronto. Daniel Sprong and Sweden native Lucas Raymond scored for Detroit.

The win comes following an extended break for the Maple Leafs, whose last game was played back on November 11, a 5-2 victory against the Canucks. Toronto has now won three straight games.

William’s father, Michael Nylander, was in the crowd for Friday’s game. Michael played over 900 NHL games throughout his career and scored more than 650 points.

The Maple Leafs are among the teams featured in the 2023 Global Series in Sweden. The other Canadian team participating is the Ottawa Senators, who beat Detroit 5-4 on Thursday.

Toronto will play the Minnesota Wild at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday to conclude the mini-tournament in Sweden. The Maple Leafs will have another longer-than-usual layoff, with their next game coming on Friday, November 24, on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks.