Detroit rallies for 4th straight win; Draisaitl scores 36th for Edmonton
By Gerry Moddejonge– NHL.com Independent Correspondent
EDMONTON — Alex Lyon made 45 saves, and the Detroit Red Wings came back for a 3-2 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.
“I thought Alex was obviously a key to the victory,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “He faced a lot of shots, not all dangerous, but there were some succession-type shots that he had to be alert and get us some whistles when we broke down.
“That’s why the goalie wears the same color jersey as everybody else — he’s there to provide us that security, and he did that.”
Dylan Larkin scored the tying goal in the second period then had the second goal to end the shootout for the Red Wings (25-21-5), who won their fourth consecutive game. Lucas Raymond also scored in the shootout.
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DET@EDM: Raymond, Larkin, Lyon help Red Wings to comeback victory
The Red Wings came back from trailing 2-0 in the first period for the second game in a row, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on Monday.
“We were down two and we knew we had to be better, and we knew we’d get our legs going from the travel day yesterday and we did just that,” said Larkin. “It was a big win. It’s a hard start in this building always, and we learned our lesson last year, I think we were down 2-0 after the first shift of the game.
“You know when you play a team like that with the players they have and the two big guys, you know you’re going to get your chances. They’re going to get their pressure and their O-zone time, and I thought we did a good job just playing the game and keep it to the outside for the most part and limiting the odd-number rushes.”
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DET@EDM: Larkin finishes Kasper’s pass in 2nd period
Leon Draisaitl and Jeff Skinner scored for the Oilers (32-15-4), whose three-game winning streak ended. Stuart Skinner made 32 saves.
“They’re a pretty fast team and I think we gave them too many opportunities to play fast and spring each other on odd-man rushes and a couple breakaways, and they capitalized on one,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “So, I thought overall we played an all right game. Just a bit of a stretch there where we gave them too many easier opportunities.”
Michael Rasmussen pulled the Red Wings to 2-1 at 9:59 of the second period, tipping a wrist shot by Jonatan Berggren past Stuart Skinner’s glove.
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DET@EDM: Rasmussen trims Red Wings’ deficit in 2nd period
Larkin tied it 2-2 at 11:47, getting sprung on a breakaway on a pass off the boards by Marco Kasper and sending the puck through Stuart Skinner’s legs. As he was shooting, Larkin’s stick was bumped by Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson.
Draisaitl put the Oilers ahead 1-0 on the power play at 6:49 of the first period, sending a shot from the right dot under Lyon’s glove. Evan Bouchard passed to Draisaitl from the point that hit the stick of Larkin, sending the puck bouncing past Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot, who fanned on a clearing attempt on its way to Draisaitl for his NHL-leading 36th goal of the season.
“We had every opportunity to put them away early in the game, get that third goal,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “Whether it was 5-on-5 or the power play, I think we were just missing that.”
Jeff Skinner made it 2-0 at 10:29, with Zach Hyman sliding him the rebound off a shot by Adam Henrique off the rush and pushing the puck past a prone Lyon.
“That one I kind of just went to the net and put it in an open net,” said Skinner, who has scored in two straight games. “It’s always nice to contribute, that’s part of my game. I’m just going to try and keep building.
“We had some looks, we could have had another one, maybe. It would have been nice to have another one while we had the lead. And even when we were tied, we still had some looks. Just one of those games where we would have liked to get the next one and they won in a shootout.”
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DET@EDM: Skinner scores goal against Alex Lyon
Edmonton outshot Detroit 15-7 in the first period.
“I felt good … you obviously never want to give up a goal like that in the first, when you have a chance to cover it and inflict harm on yourself,” Lyon said. “Maybe good motivation too to find that next level to shut it down. That was the mindset to try and give the guys a chance after that, and I’m just happy it worked out against such a good team.”
NOTES: Defenseman John Klingberg made his debut for the Oilers with one shot on goal in 16:39 of ice time. It was his first NHL game since Nov. 11, 2023, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 32-year-old had five assists in 14 games last season for Toronto before his season ended because of hip surgery. … Larkin was 24-for-39 (61.5 percent) on face-offs. … Draisaitl scored his 10th power-play goal of the season. It is the eighth time he has scored 10 or more on the man-advantage, which ties Jari Kurri for the most instances in Oilers history.
