Bodog Beat

Nik Antropov celebrates his winning goal in front of a dejected Brian Rafalski. (AP Images)

Hockey Day in Canada, the annual celebration contrived by the CBC for TV ratings, opened its triple-header coverage Saturday with an Original Six battle between the best team in the league and one of the worst.

NHL bettors who backed the home underdog emerged with a big win as the Toronto Maple Leafs shocked the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 overtime victory at Air Canada Centre that's one of the biggest upsets of the season. The Leafs, who are mired in last place in the Northeast Division, paid +165 on the puckline (meaning a winning hockey bet of $100 would net $165). The betting total fell under 5.5 goals.

Nik Antropov beat Dominik Hasek with a slap shot 1:02 into overtime to lift the Leafs. Toronto captain Mats Sundin, rumored to be headed to Detroit in a trade, tied the game at 13:35 of the third period when his wrist shot eluded Hasek.

Vesa Toskala made 32 saves for the win.

In other NHL action:

New York Rangers 2, Philadelphia 0: In a fight-filled battle in Philadelphia, Steve Valiquette emerged unscathed. The Rangers’ backup goalie earned his second shutout of the Flyers in as many as starts by turning aside 31 shots. Nigel Dawes and Scott Gomez tallied. The game was marred by an injury to linesman Pat Dapuzzo, who was cut by a skate blade and left the ice bleeding. After Dapuzzo’s injury, the two teams engaged in fisticuffs following a hard check by Fydor Tyutin on Steve Downie. New York was a +120 underdog.

Pittsburgh 4, Los Angeles 2: Evgeni Malkin reached the 30-goal plateau with two goals and an assist as the Penguins paid -160 at home. The Penguins scored three times in the second period and took a 4-0 lead into the third period.

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