(Best E Casino) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to rebound from a rare loss when they visit the
Toronto Maple Leafs this afternoon at Air Canada Centre in a battle between Original Six franchises.
The Red Wings had an eight-game winning streak snapped their last time on the ice, as they dropped Thursday's home test to the Los Angeles Kings. Detroit is still 41-11-4 on the season and with 86 points has a substantial lead in the Central Division and Western Conference.
Alexander Frolov had a goal and two assists, as the Kings scored four third- period goals to stun the Red Wings, 5-3, at Joe Louis Arena.
Henrik Zetterberg had two goals, and Tomas Kopecky added the third for Detroit. Chris Osgood allowed all five goals on 25 shots in the loss.
Today should be Dominik Hasek's turn in goal, as the Red Wings normally alternate Osgood and Hasek every game. The 43-year-old Hasek has played in 32 career games against Toronto and is 22-5-5 with a 1.91 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in those contests.
The Red Wings have an amazing 20-6-2 record as the visiting team this season and have won five straight and 11 of their last 12 road contests.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have won two of three games to begin February after losing three straight to end January.
Toronto was able to post a win over its archrival on Thursday night, as Darcy Tucker scored two goals to lead the Leafs past the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, at the Bell Centre.
Kris Newbury and Kyle Wellwood also tallied for the Maple Leafs. Vesa Toskala made 34 saves to record his 19th win of the season.
Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing the last 22 games with a broken left hand. He suffered the injury against the Canadiens on December 15th.
Toronto is 12-10-5 as the host club this season, but has won four of its last six on home ice.
The Red Wings are visiting Toronto for the first time since losing a 5-2 decision to the Leafs on December 6, 2003. Detroit has won three of the last four meetings between the clubs.