Detroit Red Wings forward James van Riemsdyk dressed for his first game since joining the team through free agency during the offseason, and he made the most of his debut appearance in the Winged Wheel on Monday afternoon.
van Riemsdyk scored in the third period of what was ultimately a 3-2 victory for the Red Wings, their second straight over the Maple Leafs following Saturday evening's 6-3 triumph at Little Caesars Arena.
His goal increased Detroit's lead to 2-0, and despite a pair of goals from the Maple Leafs to knot the score at 2-2, fellow newcomer Mason Appleton also scored his first goal as a Red Wing late in the final frame with 45 seconds remaining that stood up as the game-winner.
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For van Riemsdyk, it was a special afternoon in not only scoring his first goal with Detroit, but also getting back into the grind of professional hockey after a family situation prevented him from taking part in Training Camp and the pre-season.
"With everything I've been through in the last month or so here with the family stuff at home, just the support of the organization and the guys on the team, having my first game in a building like this where I have a lot of history, it was fun to get back out there," the happy van Riemsdyk explained afterward.
"Obviously a big one for the team, and definitely one I'll look back on at the end of my career and it will be a pretty special one to think about."
van Riemsdyk, who was the second overall pick in 2007 by the Philadelphia Flyers (one spot behind now-current Red Wings teammate Patrick Kane), spent six seasons with the Maple Leafs earlier in his career and has no shortage of memories playing in Scotiabank Arena for Toronto.
It’s easy to get caught up in the nostalgia of returning to a former home arena, and van Riemsdyk admitted he may have momentarily forgotten which side he was on.
"One of my first couple of shifts, I kind of forgot that I was on the white team and passed a couple of pizzas over to them," he said with a laugh. "But after that, I felt better and better as the game went on. There's nothing quite like getting into game action, so hopefully I got a lot of those cobwebs out of the way and have a good place to start from and continue to build my game."
Detroit's win over the Leafs was truly a steal, considering that they were badly outshot and largely outplayed for much of the game. Goaltender Cam Talbot, making his second straight start, was easily the first star of the game, making 38 saves.
"He was outstanding, he was probably the biggest reason why we won the game," van Riemsdyk said of Talbot.
The Red Wings also got a first period power-play goal from Dylan Larkin, while the Maple Leafs countered in the third period with tallies from Matthew Knies and Calle Jarnkrok.
While the positive is that the Red Wings picked up two points against the Maple Leafs for the second straight game, van Riemsdyk and the rest of the Red Wings know that being outshot by such a considerable margin isn't a winning formula.
Cam Talbot's 38 Saves Help Red Wings Steal Win From Leafs, But Concern Is For Lucas Raymond
The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't happy with how they played during their 6-3 defeat at the hands of the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings">Detroit Red Wings</a> on Saturday evening at Little Caesars Arena, and wanted things to be different in Monday afternoon's rematch in Toronto.
"Definitely not the blue print of how we want to win, but good teams find ways to win, and we're doing a lot of little things like blocking shots, making smart plays with the puck for the most part," he said. "In the end, you have to find ways to win when maybe you're not carrying the game as much."
The Red Wings can thank Talbot for ensuring their home-and-home sweep of the Maple Leafs, as well as both van Riemsdyk and Appleton making the most of their offensive opportunities.
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