Red Wins 3, Oilers 2 (OT)
EDMONTON -- The Detroit Red Wings pulled themselves back into a playoff spot Friday night with a 3-2 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Trailing 2-0 after 40 minutes, the Red Wings fought back with two goals in the third, and Pavel Datsyuk won it 3:39 into overtime.
The Oilers, returning to Edmonton after a nine-game, 17-day road trip that saw them go 3-4-2 and stay within striking distance of a playoff spot, desperately needed to keep their momentum going at home.
The Wings, meanwhile, arrived in Edmonton in a costly three-game losing streak that saw them fall out of a playoff spot for the first time this season.
It made this a pivotal game for both teams.
Edmonton scored first, with Taylor Hall splitting Detroit's defense and walking in on netminder Jimmy Howard. His goal made it 1-0 at 3:24 of the first period.
Even though Edmonton applied pressure throughout the first period, the score stayed 1-0 after 20 minutes.
It was back and forth in the second period, with Detroit starting to apply some pressure of its own.
But instead of giving up the next goal, as they have so many times this season, the Oilers scored it instead.
Nail Yakupov started the scoring play with some great work down low, and Sam Gagner went into the tough area to finish it off, scoring his team-leading 11th of the season to make it 2-0 Edmonton after 40 minutes.
The Wings made it exciting 4:27 into the third period when Valteri Filppula lifted one past Devan Dubnyk for his sixth of the year.
The Wings tied it with five minutes to go in the third when Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry accidentally shot the puck into his own net while trying to clear it around the end boards.
NOTES: The Oilers are a mediocre 4-4-3 at home this season. ... Magnus Paajarvi and Ryan Whitney each have three points in the previous two games. ... Jordan Eberle has one assist in the past four games and hasn't scored a goal in 10 games. ... After five goals in his first eight games, Nail Yakupov has one in his last 18. ... The Wings are 4-6-2 on the road this season. ... Henrik Zetterberg has two points in his last eight games. ... Howard and Ian White were back in Detroit's lineup after missing a game with the flu. ... Of Detroit's 16 power play goals this season, 15 have come at home.
