Oilers 3, Red Wings 1
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The 2015-16 Edmonton Oilers appear primed for a roller-coaster season. The Oilers lost their first four games of the season, and are now on a three-game winning run after beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Oilers halted an eight-game losing streak to Detroit, which dated back to Feb. 4, 2012.
The Oilers drew first blood at the 12:36 mark of the opening period. With the home team on the power play, Oilers center Mark Letestu, stationed in front of the Red Wings' goal, redirected a nifty pass from right winger Nail Yakupov. It was the 30-year-old veteran's first goal as an Oiler.
In the second period, Connor McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, brought the capacity crowd at Rexall Place to its feet with a highlight-reel effort. After McDavid and left winger Benoit Pouliot broke out on a two-on-one, Pouliot slid the puck past Red Wings defenseman Mike Green, leaving it for McDavid. The 18-year-old center held the puck and waited for Detroit goaltender Peter Mrazek to make the first move before dragging the puck around Mrazek and tucking it in the open side to make it 2-0.
Thirty seconds after the McDavid marker, center Teddy Purcell got credit for a goal after a scramble in front.
Detroit, playing the first of a three-game Western Canadian road trip, started off slow, getting only five shots on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot in the first period. But right winger Gustav Nyquist's shot nicked the crossbar after a nice cross-ice saucer pass from Henrik Zetterberg.
But Talbot's bid for his first career Oilers' shutout was broken in the third, when Red Wings left winger Tomas Tatar beat him on a rebound for his first goal of the season.
NOTES: Red Wings rookie C Dylan Larkin and LW Henrik Zetterberg had five-game point streaks snapped. ... Oilers RW Jordan Eberle has been out since he suffered a shoulder injury in a Sept. 29 preseason game against Arizona. ... The Oilers placed LW Matt Hendricks on injured reserve Monday and called up RW Andrew Miller fromtheir AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif. Miller had six points in nine games with the Oilers last season. ... Oilers D Griffin Reinhart is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. ... The Oilers scratched D Brandon Davidson and LW Luke Gazdic. The Red Wings scratched D Brendan Smith, C Joakim Andersson and RW Tomas Jurco. ... Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk (ankle) and RW Johan Franzen (concussion-like symptoms) are on injured reserve.