The Edmonton Oilers will begin a four-game road swing on Sunday evening in Detroit, where they’ll face the Red Wings for the first time this season. They’ll then head to Columbus on Monday, Nashville on Thursday, and Calgary on Sunday to conclude the trip.

1. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, the longest playoff drought in team history. Detroit’s longest drought had previously been seven seasons during the 1970s, as the Wings struggled following the retirement of franchise legend Gordie Howe.

The team’s fortunes began to change when they selected Steve Yzerman with the fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft. The Wings made the playoffs in Yzerman’s rookie year and that began a stretch that saw the team make the playoffs in 28 of 30 seasons, including a 25-year playoff streak between 1990-91 and 2015-16.

The current Red Wings are struggling in a similar way to how the 1970s Red Wings struggled without Howe. Detroit saw a tremendous amount of success with the likes of Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Pavel Datsyuk leading the way during the 1990s and 2000s and the Wings are now looking for their young talent to lead the team back into contention.

2. Last season, the Red Wings finished with a 41-32-9 record, tied with the Washington Capitals for eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with 91 points. Since the Capitals had more regulation wins than the Wings, Washington made the playoffs and Detroit missed out.

Despite having an above-average offence, the Red Wings were marred by inconsistent goaltending and long stretches of poor play. Alex Lyon, James Reimer, and Ville Husso combined to post a .901 save percentage and the Wings finished 24th in the NHL with 274 goals against. The team had a six-game winning streak in February that vaulted them into a playoff spot and then put a wrench in their chances with a seven-game losing streak immediately after.

Given how close they came last season, making the playoffs is the expectation in Detroit this year. This is the sixth season since Ken Holland and the Wings parted ways and Yzerman returned to the organization as the general manager.

3. The Red Wings lost a lot of depth in the off-season, as Daniel Sprong, David Perron, and Shayne Gostisbehere left the team in free agency while Robby Fabbri and Jake Walman were moved as salary cap dumps. Those players combined to score 75 of Detroit’s 278 goals last season and Gostisbehere led the team’s defencemen in scoring with 56 points.

They added Vladimir Tarasenko up front and Erik Gustafsson on the blueline, so a lot of the offence that the Red Wings need to make up for this season will have to come from internal progression. Detroit also added veteran goaltender Cam Talbot in free agency and the 37-year-old has posted a .913 save percentage over his first four starts with the team.

Through the first few weeks of the 2024-25 season, Detroit has a 4-4-0 record. They had a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, losing 5-3 to the Sabres. The Wings are 24th in the NHL in goals with 23 and 13th in goals against with 25. Their power play is league-average at 19.23 percent and their penalty kill is second-worst in the league at 64.29 percent, ahead of only the Edmonton Oilers.

4. The Oilers are coming into this game against the Red Wings looking to start a winning streak after a commanding 4-0 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

Per Bob Stauffer, Ty Emberson will remain alongside Brett Kulak on Edmonton’s third defensive pairing and Troy Stecher will stick on Darnell Nurse’s right side. Leon Draisaitl will have Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson on his wings and Jeff Skinner will play with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown on the third line.

Former Red Wing Calvin Pickard will get the start in Detroit. Pickard spent three seasons in the Red Wings organization and appeared in 12 NHL games with the club between 2019-20 and 2021-22. Through three appearances with the Oilers so far this season, he has a .852 save percentage.