Leafs look to keep momentum in finale vs. Red Wings

With first place in the Atlantic Division assured, the Toronto Maple Leafs might be looking past the visiting Detroit Red Wings, their opponent on Thursday in the regular-season finale.The Maple Leafs (51-26-4, 106 points) know they will be playing the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs in a renewal of the “Battle of Ontario.”Toronto clinched the division title with a 4-0 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and will have home-ice advantage through the first two playoff rounds, if they advance.”It’s massive for us,” Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz said. “You get that last change. You get that Game 7 home ice. It’s quite an accomplishment for this group, and we’re super excited about it.”The Red Wings (39-35-7, 85 points) entered their 5-2 road win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday knowing that they had been eliminated from playoff contention.They will enter the season finale on a three-game winning streak.”There’s always someone watching, something to play for, play for yourself,” Detroit defenseman Albert Johansson. “We just want to continue to play good hockey and have good habits.”The Maple Leafs have won four in a row after defeating Buffalo in a game that also featured several milestones.Mitchell Marner scored his 27th goal of the season to give him a career-best 100 points for the campaign.”You know, those accomplishments don’t happen by yourself,” Marner said. “Credit to a lot of guys in that locker room that have helped me out and supported me through this year and have made some unbelievable plays for me and have put in my passes. So, I think the really cool thing is just the excitement from the guys for that point.”Marner is the fourth Maple Leafs player — for a total of seven times — to reach 100 points in a season. Auston Matthews got the assist on Marner’s goal.

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