Red Wings-Oilers quick take: lessons learned in an OT loss to Draisaitl and Edmonton

The 4-and-4 Detroit Red Wings hoped to snap a 1-game losing streak as they faced the 3-4-and-1 Edmonton Oilers on Sunday evening.

Detroit had most recently lost a 5-3 loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon; Edmonton most recently snapped a 2-game losing streak via a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh on Friday night.

On Sunday evening, the Red Wings had a spectacular first period, an OK second period, a good third period, and a rough overtime as Edmonton walked out of Detroit with birthday boy Leon Draisaitl scoring 2 goals en route to a 3-2 overtime win.

Detroit got goals from Compher and Copp, two assists from Patrick Kane, an assist from Copp, a 29-save performance from a superb Cam Talbot, and 24:56 from Seider and 24:40 from Edvinsson, who were both on the ice for the game-winning OT goal against.

This was a hell of a learning experience for a team that played half of the damn third period against Hyman, McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard and Ekholm, and I am proud of the point that the Wings earned.

The Red Wings made a couple of lineup changes before the game began…

And the Oilers were starting an old organizational friend opposite Cam Talbot:

The Red Wings and Oilers came out for warmups just before 5:30 PM…

And the Red Wings tweaked their lineup slightly, both at forward and on defense:

The Red Wings posted their lineup a little late…

And the starters and scratches were as follows:

In the 1st period, the puck hit the ice at LCA at 6:10 PM, and Draisaitl won the faceoff from Compher back to Pickard, and the Oilers cycled, Draisaitl sent a shot into Talbot and Detroit regrouped, with Kane, Compher and Copp cycling down low.

The Oilers regrouped, however, and Arvidsson sent a puck wide of Podkolzin as the teams began to change some 50 seconds into the 1st period.

Larkin, DeBrincat and Raymond couldn’t work the puck into the Oilers’ zone, and instead, Hyman centered the puck for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Detroit just chipped, DeBrincat chased vs. Pickard, and the Kasper line came out to battle Skinner & company.

Both teams were able to enter each other’s zones, but very little came of their forays into the offensive zones.

Berggren, Johansson and Maatta tried to cycle deep and Rasmussen, Fischer and Veleno came out to bump and grind some 2:40 into the 1st, affording Detroit a four-line rotation;

Rasmussen was able to generate a scoring chance off an Oilers line change, but he didn’t shoot the puck early enough, and the Oilers’ defense converged on him and stopped him from shooting.

Off a faceoff, Copp and Kane centered to Compher and he roofed a puck over Pickard to make it 1-0 Detroit at 3:28 of the 1st period.

Compher scored from Kane and Copp at 3:28 of the 1st period to make it 1-0 Detroit.

On the post-goal shift, Copp fed Kane for a one-timer that was ripped wide, and Arvidsson skated away, but Kane facilitated a good rush by Simon Edvinsson, who was pulled down in front of the Oilers’ net;

The teams traded chances as McDavid, DeBrincat and then Larkin generated shots, and Pickard held the puck at 5:10 for a faceoff.

Johansson and Maatta worked well together, looking sharp and smart, and they helped Veleno, Rasmussen and Fischer generate a shot via Maatta on a grinding shift some 5:59 into the 1st.

Edmonton’s fourth line of Brown, Henrique and Emberson worked very well vs. the Kasper line, pinning Detroit in its own end, but the Red Wings emerged unscathed;

At the first TV timeout, Detroit was out-shooting Edmonton 5-1 some 7:23 into the 1st.

Detroit really looked sharp in terms of its puck management, and the Wings’ heads were on a swivel in terms of Edmonton’s tremendously explosive offense and transition game.

Still, Draisaitl sent a shot just wide off an Arvidsson turnover;

Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat dropped the puck to Edvinsson in the slot, and he passed on a shot that he should have shot;

Edmonton did get a good chance that Berggren stifled on Darnell Nurse, Maatta was fed by Kasper, Detroit attacked Pickard and they hit the goalpost;

Pickard then wiggled his helmet off after Fischer, Veleno and company generated a scoring chance that looked to be cycling toward a goal.

It was interesting to see the Red Wings go “strength for strength,” with Larkin’s line battling McDavid, and Detroit nearly scored as DeBrincat sent a sneaky shot in on Pickard;

As play continued, Bouchard dropped the puck to Skinner, Arvidsson slithered a shot behind Talbot and it went wide of the net;

Then Maatta and Johansson helped Berggren and Kasper generate a set of scoring chances in which Tarsaenko fed Berggren in the low slot, Berggren got an 11th shot on goal with 14:15 gone, and the Larkin line replaced them…

Racing in and cycling hard, but again, Edvinsson had a shot blocked, and Hyman got the puck to Nugent-Hopkins, DeBrincat had to backcheck, and Raymond wasn’t quite able to grab a loose puck in a foot race with Kulak;

And Joe Veleno got into a fight with Corey Perry at 15:21, with Perry trying to take some revenge on Veleno for a hit on Derek Ryan, but Veleno held his own and then some!

Both players received 5-minute fighting penalties.

For what it’s worth, Derek Ryan was fine, and he set up Troy Stetcher for a good scoring chance that constituted the Oilers’ 3rd shot on goal.

Talbot began to face more shots and more shot attempts with about 16:12 gone in the 1st, and the Oilers’ attempts to surge back into the game feeling energy from the Perry fight were not successful thanks to a stop from Talbot on Draisaitl, good stick-checking and dogged determination.

DeBrincat and Raymond raced in 2-on-1, but Zach Hyman poked the puck off Raymond’s stick with about 2:15 remaining in the 1st…

As the period wound down to its final minute, Kane snuck out into the ice with Copp as the Kasper line changed on the fly, and Copp generated a fine scoring chance in on Pickard;

Then Raymond jabbed a shot toward Pickard off a faceoff win and bouncing puck;

And the period ended with Detroit preventing McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard from scoring.

The shots were 13-5 after 1 period of play.

In the 2nd period, Detroit opened with the Compher line again, and while Edmonton won the opening faceoff, and generated a rush chance, the Wings settled down some 30 seconds in, changed lines, and began to work as Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat nearly converted on a 3-on-2 passing play;

Larkin then generated a scoring chance of his own from the low slot;

Edmonton’s Connor Brown got the Oilers’ first shot of the second period, and the fourth line with Skinner and Henrique generated a shot on goal and forced Marco Kasper to block a shot with the inside of his right foot;

Petry, Chiarot, Compher, Kane and Copp had a really rough shift against the Oilers’ Draisaitl line, however, and momentum seemed to be turning some 3:03 into the 2nd.

Johansson and Maatta were paired against McDavid, Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins, and Copp, Fischer and Rasmussen needed help from Talbot to keep the scoresheet clean.

Edmonton was really playing well as the 2nd period continued, with the Oilers trying very hard to dent Talbot by shooting pucks at the Wings’ goalie with regularity.

Johansson, Maatta, Rasmussen, Veleno and Fischer worked hard to simply clear the zone some 5:15 into the 2nd;

Meanwhile, on Sportsnet:

Detroit took a penalty some 5:42 into the 2nd, with Dylan Larkin sitting for interference off the faceoff deep in the Oilers’ zone.

On the PK, Compher, Raymond, Seider and Edvinsson worked together vs. Draisaitl, McDavid, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard;

Talbot made a good stop on a “Bouch Bomb” and Edvinsson alertly cleared the puck;

Kasper, Petry and Chiarot came over the boards, Kasper flicked a shot in on Pickard and Raymond nearly gave Kasper a shorthanded chance;

Veleno and Copp worked against the Oilers’ 2nd PP unit, and and Talbot made a wise stop on Skinner;

Seider blocked a point shot, Edvinsson could not clear, and while Detroit killed the penalty, it was not without some difficulty.

Detroit nearly blazed the other way on a 3-on-2, too, but at 7:55, Ekholm forced Larkin offside.

Edmonton was leading in shots 9-2 in the 2nd period, so Detroit needed to step up.

A bad turnover by Maatta yielded a shot by Brett Kulak, and a back-door play was negated by a smart Kasper back-check, bailing out Albert Johansson;

Edmonton continued to press, and cycle, and sadly, Leon Draisaitl put a puck off Olli Maatta’s skate and past Cam Talbot at 8:46, affording Edmonton a 1-1 tie.

Draisaitl scored the 1-1 goal at 8:46.

Luckily, off a set of board battles at center ice, Patrick Kane raced up the right wing, dropped the puck to Jeff Petry, and Copp tipped the puck down between Pickard’s legs to make it 2-1 at 9:26.

Detroit made it 2-1 at 9:26. Copp from Kane and Petry.

Corey Perry then flubbed an OPEN NET chance against Talbot…

Edmonton continued to perplex the Wings, and at 10:58, the shots were 11-3 Edmonton in the 2nd and 17-16 Edmonton overall.

Edmonton continued to rip shots toward the net as the period progressed, and they were tougher to battle in the neutral zone, getting sticks on pucks and Red Wings sticks as well.

Thankfully, Talbot was up to the task, and he was getting help from his Red Wings defenders.

Berggren was really flying as Maatta and Petry jammed a puck into Pickard, Maatta ripped a slapper in on Pickard, Chiarot came out and helped the Wings change lines, and the Red Wings forced Edmonton to play catch and send the puck onto Talbot for a play-out…

DeBrincat then walked in and hit the goalpost, but Zach Hyman raced the other way and got two shots on Talbot, who made stout stops.

Edmonton was out-shooting Detroit 15-5 in the 2nd period as of 14:35 of the 2nd.

When play resumed, Kane NEARLY put the puck in, but Pickard made a HUGE toe stop on the all-alone Kane, who had snuck behind the Oilers’ defense;

Draisaitl and Nurse generated two more shots after Compher made an interesting play, tossing the puck into the Oilers’ end with his hand;

Edmonton really played spectacularly well in the 2nd, but Detroit was blocking shots, Edvinsson made a tremendous block and Compher fed Copp who fed Edvinsson, down low to Kane to Copp to Compher to Seider to Edvinsson stopped Compher stopped on the rebound…

Play sort of went like that. Remarkable feats of skill.

In the 3rd period, Kasper, Berggren and Tarasenko won the opening faceoff, Johansson recovered the Oilers’ clear, and the Oilers raced into the Wings’ zone, got caught tight deep, and Tarasenko over-passed, but Berggren retrieved a puck, Detroit cycled and even Seider pinched to help the cycle, and the Larkin line broke out.

Larkin sent the first shot of the game in on Pickard at 1:04.

Edmonton regrouped and Talbot had to make a tremendous stop on Draisaitl’s wrister from the right wing half boards, the Oilers and Red Wings struggled to gain control of the puck, McDavid deked and dangled, Bouchard and Arvidsson faked shots…

And Talbot made a fine stop on another Bouchard bomb to deflect it out of play.

There was this, too.

Ultimately, Edmonton took a penalty because Berggren was taken down at 4:09 of the 2nd period as Darnell Nurse tripped Berggren a couple of times.

On the power play, Larkin, Copp, DeBrincat, Seider and Kane worked together, and Edmonton parried away the first Wings rush, the second Wings rush, and Larkin fed Kane and DeBrincat sent Kane a fine pass, but Kane’s stick was slashed heavily sans call.

The 2nd unit of Compher, Tarasenko, Berggren, Kasper and Petry worked together later in the PP, and Berggren got a shot off that Pickard picked out of the air…

Detroit did not get much done on the power play.

Edmonton brought McDavid, Hyman, Draisaitl, Bouchard and Ekholm together vs. Fischer, Rasmussen, Veleno, Seider and Edvinsson…And the Oilers dazzled, with Skinner coming off the bench and Talbot making a huge stop.

When play resumed, Veleno, Tarasenko and Kasper worked with Maatta and Johansson, and Kulak was stifled by Talbot, Kasper came back to help the D, Perry was blocked by Tarasenko, and Perry continued to jab Talbot into the goal, with the Red Wings taking exception to Perry’s shenanigans.

Rasmussen, DeBrincat and Larkin worked together as an interim top line, and Seider raced in and fired a shot wide, Larkin sent the rebound in, and 9:04 had passed in the 3rd.

Thankfully, Raymond came out of the locker room at that point, and that was a huge relief.

Copp, Rasmussen and Fischer were reunited for a shift;

The Oilers continued to stack their top line, and the Larkin line was forced to ice the puck with 9:29 left in regulation time…

Detroit cleared the zone and changed, and, regrettably, Bouchard ripped a heavy shot through Talbot to make it 2-2 off a drop pass from Draisaitl.

Bouchard made it 2-2 at 10:47 from Draisaitl and Ekholm.

And Hyman screened Talbot.

With 8:37 remaining, a TV timeout hit…

When play resumed, Copp, Compher and Kane were reunited, Petry fed Raymond as Detroit changed, and the Oilers tipped a puck out of play…

Edmonton was committing a lot of interference that the referees deemed necessary, and again, the Oilers loaded up the McDavid-Hyman-Draisaitl pairing as Veleno, Fischer and Rasmussen worked together on the checking line;

Detroit iced the puck and could not change, with Johansson and Maatta on defense, with 6:59 remaining…

Veleno won the faceoff again, but the Oilers regained control, Maatta got lucky in not icing the puck, and Detroit changed with 6:30 remaining…

McDavid and Draisaitl then generated two SPECTACULAR scoring chances that Talbot stifled on shots 28 and 29 against;

Detroit went offside with 4:39 remaining, and we hit another TV timeout.

Rasmussen, Veleno and Fischer played opposite Arvidsson, Podkolzin and Nugent-Hopkins, and Talbot had to make a good stop off the side of the net;

Veleneo stole the puck and worked with Fischer to jam pucks in on Skinner, Chiarot helped get the puck to Veleno, but Edmonton iced the puck without getting called for icing…

Skinner stole the puck from Rasmussen, and Detroit did ice the puck with 3:30 remaining.

Again, the Oilers stacked their line vs. Larkin, Rasmussen and Raymond, and Larkin poked a puck away from Draisaitl off the defensive zone faceoff loss;

Larkin won the next faceoff, and when DeBrincat could not clear, Edvinsson and DeBrincat got help from Larkin to clear the zone;

Moritz Seider was unable to bury a backhand on Pickard, and Raymond worked alone for a bit with 2:20 remaining…

Kulak put a puck in and out of the glove of Talbot, and Copp raced away with Compher chasing Kulak, but Edmonton cleared the zone, and Detroit was called for a very poor penalty with 1:51 remaining in regulation time. Copp sat for a spurious trip.

On the penalty-kill, Detroit won the initial faceoff and cleared the zone;

Edmonton stacked its lines again, and McDavid was blocked by Edvinsson;

Talbot made a “back save”;

Edvinsson worked well with Seider, and Fischer blocked a puck out of play with 54.2 left in regulation and 1:04 left on the PK;

Petry ripped the next won defensive faceoff down the ice, forcing Arvidsson and the Oilers’ second unit to regain entry;

Detroit’s Petry cleared the zone after a block with about 15 left;

Larkin then carried the puck to center to give the Red Wings a tie.

IN OVERTIME, the Oilers began the period with 9 ticks of PP time 4-on-3…

Draisaitl and Compher drew in on the faceoff, it was falsely dropped, and on the second try, the Oilers won it and skated to the Wings’ line…

Seider made a block, Compher made a block, Edmonton cycled down low, and Ekhom fed Draisaitl for a 2nd goal and a 3-2 overtime win.

Draisaitl scored his 2nd goal from Ekholm and McDavid at 18 seconds of OT. 3-2 Edmonton.

Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:

Published by

George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

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