The Toronto Maple Leafs blew a big lead and Anthony Mantha scored two goals for the Detroit Red Wings, but the Leafs prevailed in overtime 5-4 in the outdoor Centennial Classic.
Auston Matthews, the 19-year-old who was picked first by Toronto in the 2016 Entry Draft, scored two goals of his own, including the overtime winner, to give the Leafs two points.
The win puts the Leafs at 41 points in the Eastern Conference standings, three points out of a playoff spot if the playoffs were to start today. The Wings are at 37 points, second to last in the conference.
The first period, played before a sellout crowd at BMO Field in Toronto, was scoreless, and there was one penalty, against Detroit's Brendan Smith for tripping in the opening minutes of the period.
The Red Wings broke the scoreless tie at 5:33 into the second period with Mantha's first goal of the contest. However the Leafs would turn it on in the third period with four unanswered goals.
Leo Komarov would tie it up for Toronto at 1:23 into the third period. Exactly seven minutes later, former London Knight Mitch Marner would give the Leafs the lead. Toronto would expand on that lead with a Connor Brown goal at 9:34 to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead. Matthews would contribute to what was believed to be an insurmountable lead at 12:05 in the third.
The Wings would then put together an improbable comeback. Jonathan Ericsson's snap shot would cut the Toronto lead to 4-2. With Detroit goalie Jared Coreau pulled in the dying minutes for the extra attacker, the Wings took advantage and Dylan Larkin moved Detroit to within one at 18:14. Mantha would send the game into overtime by scoring with 1.1 seconds left. A lengthy review to rule out goalie interference only confirmed the goal and forced overtime. Matthews would score the winner for Toronto at 3:40 into overtime.
Coreau would stop 20 out of Toronto's 25 goals and take the loss for Detroit. Frederik Andersen had 31 stops for the Leafs.
The Centennial Classic is the first of a series of special events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Hockey League. Before the game, the NHL revealed 33 of the top 100 hockey players of all time. These players either made appearances in person, such as Toronto's Dave Keon, or had family members stand in, such as the daughter of Detroit legend Sid Abel and the son of "Mr. Hockey", Gordie Howe, former Wing Mark Howe.