Ladies and gentlemen, the Edmonton Oilers are back to .500.
About three and a half minutes into the game, the Red Wings won a board battle in the Oilers’ end, with the puck bouncing out in front of J.T. Compher. There wasn’t much Calvin Pickard could’ve done as the centre ripped it top shelf with a quick shot.
With just over 11 minutes left in the game, the Oilers finally beat Cam Talbot as the birthday boy, Leon Draisaitl tried a cross-ice pass to McDavid, with the puck taking a fortunate pass off Olli Määttä and in.
The tie game didn’t last very long though, as the Red Wings scored under a minute later. Former Oiler Jeff Petry’s blast was tipped by Andrew Copp in front of the net, beating Pickard to take the lead back.
Thankfully, the Oilers scored the game-tying goal with just over nine minutes left in the final frame, as Evan Bouchard fired a half Bouchbomb (that still reached a tick under 94 mph) through a screen.
For the second straight game in Detroit between two teams, the Oilers won in overtime. Nine seconds of the Oilers’ power play carried over into the overtime period, giving us a brief four-on-four overtime. Just 18 seconds into the extra frame, Mattias Ekholm received the puck in the offensive zone and faked a slap shot, instead electing to pass it to a wide-open Leon Draisaitl for his second of the game.
Takeaways…
Calvin Pickard’s performance was a big reason why the Oilers were able to eventually take this one. Despite playing their second game of a back-to-back, the Red Wings came out flying, taking 13 shots in the first period while the Oilers had just five. Overall, Pickard finished with a .926 save percentage. His season save percentage now sits at .877%, while he has a 2.91 goals-against average.
Speaking of the Wings dominating the play, their first period was great, but it’s clear that they were tired in the second and beyond. The Oilers flat-out dominated the third period, with the Wings getting very little zone time or opportunities.
For the second consecutive game, the Oilers didn’t allow a goal on the penalty kill, the third time this season. This time, they were 1/1 on the kill, while being unable to score on their two power play attempts.
Funnily enough, the Oilers have fought in four games this season, winning all four of those games. Yes, that means they’re 4-0-0 when they fight and 0-4-1 when they don’t. This time, it was Corey Perry versus Joe Veleno, who had a dirty hit on Derek Ryan on the shift prior.
I have a soft spot for the Red Wings and I consider them my Eastern Conference team. I’ll give a little bit of love to left-shot defenceman Simon Edvinsson, who had numerous key blocks in the third period. The 21-year-old is going to be a stud.
It won’t be long before the Oilers return to action, as they play the second game of a back-to-back on Monday, facing off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Edmonton will have an opportunity to go above .500 for the first time this season.
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