First-year Detroit Red Wings forward Mason Appleton came through in the clutch for his team in the final minute of Monday afternoon's tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which was both the game-winning goal as well as his first tally since joining the Red Wings.
A pair of newcomers for the Detroit Red Wings played an integral role in their 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday afternoon, their second straight win over the Leafs in the wake of Saturday evening's 6-3 win at Little Caesars Arena.
Despite being outshot by a 40-15 margin, the Red Wings earned the two points thanks to a stellar performance in goal from Cam Talbot, who made 38 saves, as well as the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation from Mason Appleton.
Appleton found himself elevated to the first line after the departure of Lucas Raymond, who took a hard hit from Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev and appeared to be favoring his shoulder.
After a shot from Ben Chiarot was blocked by Toronto's Auston Matthews, Appleton immediately one-timed the puck past a sprawling Anthony Stolarz, who was a fraction of a second too late to stop it.
How about them Apples, eh?
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"Had the shot gotten through, I think it would have went to Stolarz's left, so he kind of faded that way and then the block came where it got kicked out," Appleton said about his point of view on how the sequence of events came together for his game-winner. "When I got my eyes up, I saw that my left side of the net was open, so I just tried to get it there quick."
Fellow first-year Red Wings forward James van Riemsdyk, who was making his season debut, also tallied.
Appleton signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings during the offseason after having helped the Winnipeg Jets reach the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The fact that his first goal with his new club stood up as the game-winner in dramatic fashion is naturally a good feeling for him.
"To win the game, to score the first with a new organization, it was an important goal for the team and an important goal for me," Appleton said. "I felt real good."
While the Red Wings trailed considerably in the shot column, the bottom line is that they earned the two points and kept a key divisional opponent like the Leafs from securing any points in the standings for the second straight contest.
"We didn't love a lot of that game, but at the end of the end of the season when you're looking back and your point total, you don't remember how that one went in Toronto," Appleton said. "You just remember the two points."
Because Raymond is unavailable for Wednesday evening's tilt against the Florida Panthers (7:00 p.m. ET, TNT, HBO Max), Appleton will once again slot onto Detroit's top line alongside Dylan Larkin and rookie Emmitt Finnie.
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