Maple Leafs heat up in hurry, hand Wings first preseason loss

In Toronto, the Maple Leafs exploded for four special-teams goals within a four-minute span in the second period, leading to a 6-2 exhibition victory Friday over the Red Wings.

Gustav Nyquist (power play) and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit (6-1), which fell for the first time in the preseason.

BOX SCORE: Red Wings 6, Maple Leafs 2

Toronto’s Jake Gardiner (power play), John Tavares (power play), Patrick Marleau (power play) and Par Lindholm (short-handed) all scored in 3 minutes, 54 seconds to break open a 1-1 game.

Gardiner added another goal in the third period and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs.

The teams will close out the preseason Saturday night in Detroit.

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tkulfan