Will the Detroit Red Wings make room on their season-opening roster for a rookie?
A pair of forwards have made a case to stick around.
Emmitt Finnie tallied a goal and an assist and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard made a nice pass to set up another goal Thursday in a 3-1 preseason victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
The Red Wings scored three unanswered goals in the third period, capped by Finnie’s empty-net tally with 1:23 remaining. Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat also scored.
Finnie logged 14:50 in ice time and recorded four shots on goal, seven hits and a plus-2 rating while winning 5-of-7 faceoffs. He’s played wing and center during the preseason.
The Red Wings (4-3-0) outshot the Leafs 42-19. Toronto dressed a stacked lineup with stars Auston Matthews, who opened the scoring on the power play at 2:08 of the first period, William Nylander and John Tavares.
Cam Talbot made 18 saves while playing the entire game.
Larkin tied it at 1-1 at 5:04 of the third by banging home a rebound of Ben Chiarot’s shot from the blue line.
DeBrincat scored the game-winning goal at 12:28, converting a nice backhand pass through the crease from Brandsegg-Nygard.
These same teams wrap up the exhibition season Saturday at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).
Teams must submit their season-opening 23-man roster on Monday.