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Youth served at Centennial Classic as Matthews, Mantha, Marner shine

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The outdoors are for the kids.

Young NHL talent was on display Sunday at the Centennial Classic in Toronto between the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. After a sluggish 40 minutes, the teams erupted for seven goals in the third period, and it was the youth doing the heavy lifting for both clubs.

Six of the nine goals in the game were scored by players aged 22 or younger, and three of them by teenagers, as pointed out by NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

The teens are Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, with Matthews scoring the fourth and fifth goals of the game for Toronto - the latter the OT winner after Toronto blew a 4-1 third-period lead.

Toronto's Connor Brown, 22, added a goal for the blue and white, while Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha, 22, scored twice for Detroit, including the tying goal with just over a second left on the clock in the third period.

The game's in great hands.

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