Detroit Red Wings fall to Oilers 5-2 in physical contest

The Detroit Red Wings took the phrase being 100% healthy a bit too literally in Tuesday night’s contest. Even though there were no major injuries and players who departed the game or left the bench, but the Red Wings certainly were playing physically.

Between scuffles after the whistle and throwing the body around, the Detroit Red Wings took it to Edmonton. They played well and did a good job executing against the Oilers’ top line. The “best power play in history,” as the broadcast mentioned a million times, was able to be limited.

The Red Wings did a good job keeping Edmonton off the board early on, even with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins getting a power-play tally late; they were able to keep it together for the most part. The Red Wings created offense, but the puck luck was truly against them throughout the entire game.

There were a few weak calls against Detroit that did not help, but the Red Wings fell victim to a couple of bad plays that ultimately told the tale of the game on the scoresheet. With some better puck luck, the Red Wings may have finished on top. Instead, Edmonton took home the victory on Tuesday night.

Let’s get into a Detroit Red Wings recap against the Oilers.

First Period

The Detroit Red Wings came out and did exactly what they needed to.

That’s the plain and simple analysis of how things went in the first period. They had things firing on all cylinders. The offense created some good scoring chances and even found the back of the net. In the defensive zone, they played strong enough to keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from finding the back of the net.

Overall they were able to keep shots to the outside and play their game. Tyler Bertuzzi had quite the first period, getting a goal to kick off the second half of the season. He crept into the backdoor spot unattended, and on a great feed from Lucas Raymond, he was able to bury to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at the midway point in the first period.

Besides the goal, Bertuzzi constantly got involved on the ice, including drawing a penalty to give the Red Wings a power-play. Ville Husso looked good in net during the first as well. It really was a well-rounded period, and the Red Wings were able to start out on the right foot.

Worth noting… they could have been up 3-0 if it weren’t for a crossbar miss from Moritz Seider and a re-direct from Robby Fabbri that hit the post after he did not get the best piece of it.

Second Period

Early in the second, the Oilers were able to go out and tie things up. It was forward Ryan McLeod who was able to corral the puck in front. He was able to hang onto the puck long enough before letting one rip to beat Husso for the goal.

Almost right after that, the Oilers claimed the lead. It was a 2-on-1 rush that had Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins feed a beautiful saucer pass to Warren Foegele. It was a quick snap from Foegele, who sent one hard into the back of the net for the Oilers’ second goal of the night.

Things just kept getting worse when the Red Wings surrendered their third goal of the period. It was Vincent Desharnais who let one go from the point. Foegele was credited with the goal, but it did not seem as if he got a piece of it on the replays shown during the broadcast. Nonetheless, the Oilers extended their lead, making it 3-1.

The Red Wings would not go quietly, though. The Red Wings were able to climb within one after a huge penalty kill. It was a quick turn of events where the Red Wings capped off the kill and then set up a goal. Moritz Seider made a nice feed to Joe Veleno, who was streaking up the side.

He got in close on Jack Campbell and beat him to make it a 3-2 game heading into the intermission. It was a huge goal for Detroit to switch up the momentum. On top of that, there was a scrum after the horn to end the period, and all that came of it was a penalty to Edmonton, giving the Red Wings a power-play to start the third.

Third Period

It was an aggressive third period. Lots of scuffles after the brush up after the horn. The Red Wings did their best to keep Edmonton from getting too far ahead, and they did an excellent job until about the 5:00 minutes remaining mark.

Nugent-Hopkins buried a wrist shot for a power-play goal to make it 4-2 in favor of Edmonton. He was able to capitalize on the power play after a stretch of Edmonton taking it to Detroit.

Evander Kane, who was public enemy no.1, banged home the empty-net goal to make it 5-2. The Red Wings would not be able to recover, and the Oilers took home the victory on Tuesday night. Robby Fabbri got involved after the final whistle for another dust-up before the two teams departed the ice.

Detroit’s back in action on Thursday as they take on the Calgary Flames on home ice.