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Pre-Scout: Under pressure to make playoffs, Red Wings first in the Atlantic arriving in Edmonton
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
Dec 11, 2025, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 11, 2025, 12:53 EST
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For the second game in a row, the Edmonton Oilers’ opponents are coming off a game in Calgary the night before.  
The Detroit Red Wings roll into town after giving their fans the tightest of sphincters in the 3rd period. 
Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist, and Detroit were up 4-0 after 40 minutes and appeared to be cruising, pouncing on CGY earlier for a lead. After recording his 25th career shutout against Vancouver the game before, John Gibson was gunning for back-to-back doughnuts. 
Then the game changed abruptly. Joel Farabee scored on a penalty shot, and then Matt Coronato followed it up 65 seconds later. With almost six minutes left in regulation, the Flames struck within one. 
But that’s as close as they’d come.
“A win is a win…we’re stacking wins at this point…but our process, standard, needs to be a lot better,” said Andrew Copp post-game.  “After the first 10 minutes, we weren’t skating.”
Tonight will be their fifth game of six on the road. Despite the scare, they’ve won three in a row, are 3-0-1 on the trip, scoring at least four in each game. With the Tampa Bay Lightning idle, the Wings are first in the ultra-bottlenecked Atlantic Division. 
While happy with points on the road, head coach Todd McLellan wasn’t too thrilled with the game overall.
“I wouldn’t classify that as our A-game. We were up 4-0,” McLellan told reporters post-game. “Some of our game management skills came into question again. Good thing Gibby was sharp, especially down the stretch, but you’re up 4-0 with ten minutes left, you’re on the powerplay, and we got sloppy.”

Standouts 

Alex DeBrincat is cooking right now with Patrick Kane on the Wings’ second line. He’s had the tendency to be streaky, but the American sniper has scored 41 goals twice in his career, and potted 39 tallies last season. On a five-game point streak, he’s scored 4-4–8. 
Kane won’t let Father Time keep him down. The 37-year-old is hoping against hope he gets to represent his country at the Olympics, and is operating at a point-per-game pace, 21 points in 22 games. He’s also nearing major milestones, three back of 500 goals, that will remove any doubt that he is the greatest American-born hockey player ever. 
Having this legitimate second line top back up the scoring exploits of Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond is working wonders for the winged wheel. 
Meanwhile, the 2nd overall pick in 2007 behind Kane, James van Riemsdyk is still kicking too. He was on a four game goal streak until Wednesday. 
Then Axel Sandin-Pellikka is standing out on the blueline. One of the myriad of European Yzerplan draft picks, ASP is on a four-game point streak and is averaging 18:23 of ice time, the fourth most on the Red Wings blueline.

Reversing course

While the quotes out of the Calgary win aren’t exactly glowing, Detroit has for the most part been able to avoid the major issues of why they lose games, according to The Athletic beat reporter Max Bultman: poor net-front defence, not finishing chances, and bad goaltending.
Shoring up these issues is why they’re on a season high point streak of six games.
Both John Gibson (17 games) and Cam Talbot (16 games) have identical .884 save percentages this year, but on this streak, the collective save percentage is .919.
Detroit’s expected goal percentage at 5-on-5 of 13th best in the league, according to Moneypuck, is starting to show through with how the Wings are converting on scoring chances, too. Their 5-on-5 goal differential remains -11, which is 7th worst in the NHL, but one place better than the Oilers.

Notes:

  • Kane last weekend scored his 83rd career game-winning goal to tie Zach Parise for third place on the NHL’s all-time list among U.S.-born players. Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick are both tied for the lead with 92.
  • Kane is 11 points from breaking Mike Modano’s NHL record for points by a player born in the United States, with 1,364 points (497 goals, 867 assists) in 1,324 games. 
  • Simon Edvinsson left the 3rd period last night with a lower-body injury and did not return. That likely means Jacob Bernard-Docker will re-enter the lineup. Mason Appleton is nearing a return to the lineup. He hasn’t played since Nov. 29, but will probably not be back to face EDM. Otherwise, this Red Wings group is healthy, certainly compared to most of the league, and avoided injuries to Larkin and Nate Danielson earlier this trip in Seattle. 
  • Detroit’s bottom pair, which features Travis Hamonic, can be had for the Oilers. DET has been out-scored 18 to 5 with Hamonic on the ice and outchanced 148 to 86 at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.
  • DET’s PP is producing. Although they went 0/2 last night, they are just below 24 per cent on the season, in the upper crust of the league. The PK isn’t so hot at just under 80 per cent. 
  • This is a pressure year for Detroit. They’ve missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons, the longest run in franchise history. Although at times their goaltenders get brought up in trade discussions, I have a hard time believing that GM Steve Yzerman will do anything but add as the year goes along.
  • Although Edmonton lost to Detroit back on Oct. 19 by a 4-2 score, the Oilers are 5-3-2 in their last ten vs the Wings. That improves to 3-0-2 in their last five home games vs DET dating back to 2019.

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