The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their four-game road trip in Detroit on Sunday, and while the game didn’t necessarily go as planned, the boys still managed to grind their way to a 3-2 OT victory over the Red Wings.
Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings was the Oilers’ chance to get themselves back to .500, and to make that happen, the boys needed to keep their standards and hustle up. Just because they stomped Pittsburgh on Friday didn’t mean the next win would be easy. Yeah, the Red Wings have sputtered their way into the 2024-25 campaign, but they’re a team that can burn you if you’re not careful, which was precisely what happened when an early mistake by Brett Kulak led to a first-shot goal against.
To make matters worse, the early goal by J.T. Compher didn’t wake the Oilers up at all. Instead, they sleepwalked through the first 15 minutes of the game before finally showing their first signs of life with a scrap between Corey Perry and Joe Veleno. I don’t know what the problem was from an Oilers perspective, but the Red Wings were making them look just as bad as Edmonton made the Penguins look on Friday night. Frankly, the biggest win may have been the fact that the game was only 1-0 for Detroit heading into the intermission.
Edmonton responded with a much better start to the second period. To their credit, the urgency levels rose dramatically, and it was evident because the boys were winning puck battles that were lopsided losses early on. That kept the puck on the Oilers’ sticks a little bit, allowing them to string shifts together and generate offensive zone pressure. The hard work and counterpunches were eventually rewarded with a lucky bounce goal by Leon Draisaitl to tie the game temporarily. The bad news was that it only took Andrew Copp 42 seconds to reclaim the lead on a deflection goal from the slot that would hold until the break.
The first two periods of this hockey game showed both sides of the coin for an Oilers team that’s been inconsistent early in the season, and they needed to bring their best if they had any chance at a comeback win. As much as McDavid’s “dig in” quote from the Stanley Cup Final is overplayed at this point, it was exactly what we needed to happen. The boys had chances, but they needed something to stick. Shift by shift, the Oilers attacked in waves until an off-speed pitch by Evan Bouchard finally broke through, tying the game once again. The difference the second time around was that the Oilers would not take any further steps backward.
Despite a handful of quality chances as the third period drew to a close, including a PP chance with 1:51 remaining, it took until the overtime period for the Oilers to complete the comeback for a second consecutive victory. And for the second time in the game, it was Leon Draisaitl who came through for his team with a clutch goal when it matters most, completing the comeback and bringing the Oilers back to a .500 record for the first time this season. As far as birthday performances go, Draisaitl came through in a huge way with a three-point night that essentially dragged his team to victory.

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING…

  • J.T. Compher gave the Red Wings an early lead 3:28 into the game (1-0) on Detroit’s first shot of the game. Needless to say, that was not the start anyone wanted to see. As it turns out, that goal gave the Red Wings all kinds of life as they dominated the period after that, outshooting the Oilers by a 13-5 margin. Whomp whomp.
  • Leon Draisaitl tied the game (1-1) midway through the second period after he drove the puck to the goal line and got a lucky bounce off Olli Maata on his centring ice attempt. It wasn’t the prettiest goal Draisaitl will ever score, but it was big at the moment. Draisaitl picked up the game winner (3-2) in overtime on a beautiful passing play to not only secure the comeback win but also his third point of the night. How’s that for a birthday performance by the big man?
  • Only 42 seconds after the Draisaitl equalizer, Andrew Copp took the lead back (2-1) with a perfectly executed deflection after he got his stick on Patrick Kane’s shot from high in the zone.
  • Evan Bouchard tied the game for a second time (2-2) with a blast from the point after Leon Draisaitl set him up on a tee. Draisaitl started the play with a button hook at the boards that gave Bouchard both time and space to throw a change up that Cam Talbot could not handle. Even with the goal and Draisaitl’s game winner, I thought it was a weird night for Bouchard with the puck on his stick. It seemed like every time he touched the thing he was just as likely to do something weird as he was to do something awesome, and that’s very unlike Dad when he’s playing at his best.
  • Calvin Pickard got the revenge game start against Detroit, and despite allowing a goal on the first shot of the night, he ended up being a major reason why the Oilers stayed in the mix. Even though he faced fewer shots than his counterpart, Pickard was Edmonton’s best player in the early going, and that gave his teammates the time they needed to get their legs going. Without Pickard’s strong effort, Edmonton would have started this road trip with a loss, but instead, his 24 saves and .923 save% were enough to secure his second win of the year.
  • Connor McDavid continued his hot run against the Detroit Red Wings with a pair of assists on both of Draisaitl’s goals. Thank the Gord for McDavid and Draisaitl because they were the only two Oilers forwards with points on Sunday.
  • Joe Veleno hit Derek Ryan from behind early in the first period, and it wasn’t called as a penalty either on purpose or because the refs weren’t paying attention. Unfortunately, that meant Corey Perry needed to take matters into his own hands a little later in the frame, beating up Veleno with his old-man strength and teaching him a well-deserved lesson.
  • I cannot figure out what the hell is going on with the power play outside of saying the Oilers have too much passy-passy going on. Instead of putting some rubber on net, they seem content to pass the puck around in search of the perfect play, and I almost wonder if they’d be better served with a greasier approach. Why can’t you crowd the crease and funnel pucks to the crease? Why does it always have to be the highlight reel marker?
  • On the bright side, the PK Came through with a big kill in the lone shorthanded situation they faced and it was a kill that came at a huge moment. Nurse took a tripping penalty early in the third period, which gave the Red Wings a chance to buy some insurance but a strong PK effort prevented them from getting much of anything done.
  • Courtesy of Bruce McCurdy, I learned that the Oilers have only three first period goals through their first nine games. That’s a bold strategy, Cotton.
  • I do appreciate the way the Oilers were able to turn the tides after being outshot 13-5 in the first period. Edmonton took over the shot clock in the last 40 minutes, finishing the game with a 34-26 advantage when all was said and done.
  • Was it really a Sunday recap if I didn’t tell you that the Oilers won only 39.7% of the faceoffs? I didn’t think so, either. Unfortunately, it wasn’t thew news I wanted to be sharing. Boys have to be better.

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