Detroit Red Wings tumble in OT...

After 420 minutes of gametime on the ice this preseason, the Detroit Red Wings finally got to practice a key part of the NHL game: Overtime.

In their next-to-last exhibition, the Red Wings scrambled their way to a 3-3 tie in regulation despite mustering just three shots in the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Their luck ran out there, however, as William Nylander scored with 3:26 remaining in the three-on-three period to hand the Wings their third exhibition loss, 4-3. Nylander took a feed from Auston Matthews at the top of the slot and wristed a smooth shot past Wings goalie Alex Lyon. The 30-year-old, signed in the offseason to serve as the Wings’ third-string netminder, stopped 34 of 37 shots in regulation, including all 14 he faced in the third period, but whiffed on the only shot of the extra frame.

The Wings (4-2-1) got another encouraging performance from 2023 first-round pick Nate Danielson, who had a goal in 20:35 of ice time — tops among forwards. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere also had a solid night, with two early assists off his work from the point while leading the defense with 23:52 on the ice.

The Wings and Leafs will wrap up the preseason on Saturday night when Toronto visits Little Caesars Arena at 7 p.m. (Bally Sports Detroit) for the back half of an Original Six home-and-home. Detroit then opens the regular season on the road against the Devils in Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 12.

Turnovers aren’t sweet for either team

Both the Wings and Leafs had some … issues … completing passes in the second period, leading to a pair of scores.

Just over eight minutes into the frame, former Red Wing Tyler Bertuzzi picked off a soft pass across the middle from prospect Jared McIsaac at the top of the Wings’ zone. Bertuzzi, who had 88 goals as a Wing before a deadline deal to the the Boston Bruins, skated to the slot, where he sent a midrange wrister past Lyon to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead with 11:48 left in the second.

But again, the Wings came back thanks to a Leafs miscue. With 96 seconds left in the second period, goalie Ilya Samsonsov attempted to play the puck behind his net, only to hand it to Joe Veleno deep in the zone. Veleno zipped it to Dominik Shine, who was waiting in front of the net, for an easy backhand past a diving Samsonov.

Special teams issues

The Wings weren’t exactly sharp early with fewer than five skaters on the ice; after Shine was whistled for slashing 2:29 in and Toronto’s Matthews was called for goalie interference 5 seconds later, the Leafs took an early lead in four-on-four play. Nylander didn’t take long to open the scoring on the powerplay; the 40-goal scorer from a season ago who’s in the last year of his deal took a feed from Mitchell Marner high in the offensive zone and skated straight down the slot through three Wings. He caught Lyon coming out to challenge him; a slight move sent Lyon falling over his back food and and Nylander had an easy backhand into an open net 3:24 in for a 1-0 lead.

But the Wings came back and evened it just over two minutes later as Danielson tipped a shot down low from defenseman Gostisbehere, firing from near the point, past Samsonov to knot the game at 1-1, 5:46 in.. The score was Danielson’s second goal and fifth point in five preseason games.

Gostisbehere, who had 28 assists last season, stayed active early, setting up a power play score by second-year forward Jonatan Berggren with 8:45 remaining in the first, just 6 seconds after Toronto’s Simon Benoit was whistled for interference. Berggren, in the right circle, took the feed from Gostisbehere at the point and backed toward the blueline before wristing it past Samsonov high on his glove side, just under the crossbar.

The Leafs weren’t done, however: Matthews, off the ice for Toronto’s first goal, evened the score just before the first intermission. The Arizona-raised star took advantage of the Wings’ penalty issues, as Elmer Söderblom was sent off for high-sticking and about 90 seconds later, 2022 first-rounder Marco Kasper was sent off for high-sticking as well. The Wings got through the five-on-three period, but just as the first penalty expired, Marner took the puck low in the left circle and fired across the zone to a charging Matthews, who snaped it past a helpless Lyon with 8 seconds remaining.