The Detroit Red Wings concluded their four game west coast trip with a matchup against former head coach Mike Babcock and the Edmonton Oilers, winning 4-3 in the shootout behind rookie netminder Michal Postava in his first NHL start.

Postava and the Red Wings defense, facing the NHL’s most potent offensive attack behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatl kept the score low through the first two periods of play. It was Vasily Podzolkin who opened scoring after a shot from Draisatl rebounded off his leg into the net over Postava’s pads early in the first frame.

Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan, who was an assistant under Babcock during Detroit’s 2008 Stanley Cup run, found himself matching the Oilers up with heavy, extended shifts in the Edmonton o-zone as the game continued. Detroit’s third line of JT Compher, Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen having nearly the same ice time as their top line players heading into the third.

Former Oiler Viktor Arvidsson scored his fourth power play goal of the year in the second period to tie the game, as well as his PPG totals from last season while playing with the Bruins.

The Red Wings gave up back-to-back penalties to open the third period, with Isaac Howard cashing in on their second power play opportunity for his first goal of the season.

Emmitt Finnie responded 30 seconds later, with the young forward finding the backdoor on Tristan Jarry to tie things up at two 30 seconds later. However, the Oilers would regain the lead with just under five minutes left to play in regulation after Ryan Shea fired a shot from the blueline that Colton Dach was able to deflect into the Red Wings net.

Detroit would pull Postava for an extra skater, allowing Dylan Larkin to score the Red Wings third game tying goal of the night and force overtime with just over a minute left in regulation.

Postava was perfect in extra time, with Raymond making the sole goal of the shootout to win it for the Red Wings.

Takeaways

The Red Wings were able to keep McDavid without a clean shot through the first two periods of play, though the star centerman did still manage to come out with a point through the first 40 minutes, assisting on Edmonton’s first goal of the night.

“Against this team you can’t let them get the next one. they get rolling, they get a lot of confidence, so we responded appropriately this night.” McLellan said.

McDavid, who leads the league in points and has 8 goals to his name, was largely kept in check by Red Wings defenseman Mo Seider. Postava also managed to stop McDavid in the shootout, keeping Detroit clean through overtime and the skills comp.

Key Moment

The Red Wings, with their goalie pulled and less than two minutes left on the clock, managed to keep the puck in the Oilers zone for an extended sequence, with Seider and Raymond managing to keep the puck just out of reach of the Oilers defense.

Raymond’s feed into the slot to Larkin with just 1:17 left gave the center the perfect opportunity to break his goal eight game scoring drought and force overtime.

Key Stat

Michal Postava has never given up more than three goals in his professional career in the United States, spanning back over his last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Up Next

The Red Wings return home to play at Little Caesars Arena for an Original Six matchup with Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 29th. Thursday night will be the first time the Red Wings face Patrick Kane on the opposite side after his three year tenure in Hockeytown. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. EST.