Red Wings 4, Maple Leafs 2: Darren Helm registered his first career hat trick and visiting Detroit sent Toronto to its eighth consecutive defeat.

Red-hot Gustav Nyquist also scored during a three-goal blitz early in the second period as the Red Wings maintained their hold on the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Howard turned aside 25 shots to help Detroit halt its three-game winless drought (0-2-1).

Defenseman Cody Franson and Joffrey Lupul had goals for Toronto, which sits two points behind Detroit as it matched its longest losing streak since dropping eight in a row from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2010. Jonathan Bernier made 24 saves in losing his third straight start since returning from a groin injury.

The Red Wings seized the momentum with three goals in a span of 4:52 early in the second, a surge that was ignited when Helm converted a backhander seconds after being denied on a short-handed breakaway. Nyquist scored for the 10th time in his last eight games 92 seconds later before Helm deflected defenseman Jakub Kindl's shot at 7:57 for a 3-1 advantage.

After killing off Dave Bolland's double-minor, the Maple Leafs pulled within a goal when blue-liner Morgan Rielly swept a pass into the slot from his stomach that was buried by Lupul with 1:03 left in the period. Helm again used his speed to restore the two-goal lead, breaking in alone and slipping the puck around Bernier 8 1/2 minutes into the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nyquist has 21 goals in his last 26 games dating to Jan. 20, the most in the NHL during that span. ... Franson's tally snapped an 18-game drought dating to Jan. 30, while the two assists by fellow Toronto D Jake Gardiner gave him 10 points in as many contests. ... Helm scored for the first time since Nov. 29, which also marked his only other multi-goal performance of the season.