Detroit Red Wings snag a point despite 3-2 OT loss to Edmonton Oilers
Alex Lyon delivered a standout performance as the Detroit Red Wings took on the hottest team in the Western Conference.
Thursday's showdown at Little Caesars Arena featured the first meeting of the season with the Edmonton Oilers, who brought an eight-game winning streak into town. Led by speedy superstar Connor McDavid, the Oilers far outpaced the Wings in shots, and Darnell Nurse scored in overtime to hand the Wings a 3-2 loss and end their three-game winning streak.
Andrew Copp scored his first goal since Nov. 7 when he fired a shot through traffic early in the third period. The Oilers challenged whether there was goalie interference and lost, putting the Wings on a man advantage.
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Lyon had made 36 saves, six of them on McDavid, when the shutout bid ended midway through the third period as McDavid shook off Jeff Petry and Jake Walman and stickhandled the puck into Detroit's net. Zach Hyman scored with 6 minutes to play, but Olli Määttä tied it a little over 2 minutes later, pouncing on the puck after former Wings goalie Calvin Pickard let it sit just outside the goal line. The Oilers appeared to score with 8.9 seconds to play but officials immediately ruled there had been a clear hand pass.
Lyon had 44 saves at the end of regulation, to 16 by Pickard.
Energetic start
Derek Lalonde said Wednesday he might sarcastically mention something in the pre-game meeting about the Wings having allowed their previous two opponents to score on their respective first chances. The Oilers, at least, did not: Lyon denied Vincent Desharnais' attempt off the opening draw. McDavid blocked a couple early shot attempts by Walman, but Christian Fischer got one through to test Pickard about three minutes in.
Damage control
Ben Chiarot was called for holding Mattias Janmark with 4:35 to go. Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher both were able to skate the puck into Edmonton's zone to kill precious seconds, but even so, Lyon had to deal with shots from Hyman and McDavid. It was a big kill for the Wings, but the Oilers turned that man advantage into a late-period surge, battering Lyon with eight shots the last stretch of the period. All that late playing in their own zone left the Wings with just five shots on net after 20 minutes.
Keeping up with Connor
The Wings assembled a line of Michael Rasmussen with Copp and Fischer to counter McDavid's line with Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Fischer had an especially strong game; his scoring chance in the second period led to drawing a penalty on Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak which put the Wings on a man advantage for the second time in a span of three minutes. Fischer also provided a screen on Copp's goal.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings fall in OT, 3-2, to Edmonton Oilers
