Maple Leafs dump Red Wings 6-2 in opener of home-and-home set

The Toronto Maple Leafs broke open a tight game with a four-goal outburst in the second period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Jake Gardiner, John Tavares and Patrick Marleau scored on the power play and Par Lindholm added a shorthanded goal — all within a span of 3:54 — to help Toronto improve its pre-season record to 6-1-0.

Gardiner added another goal late in the third period and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs. Gustav Nyquist and Dylan Larkin replied for Detroit (6-1-0).

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The teams will close out their pre-season schedules on Saturday night with the back end of the home-and-home set at Little Caesars Arena.

The Maple Leafs iced a lineup that will be similar to the one they’ll use in their regular-season opener Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Kadri opened the scoring 98 seconds into the game by taking advantage of some lax Detroit defence.