Red Wings vs. Oilers Recap: Postava Wins First Start in Shootout

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Detroit Red Wings trailed the Edmonton Oilers three times on Monday night, and three times they pulled even. The last equalizer came from Dylan Larkin with an empty net behind Detroit and 1:17 left in regulation, and Michal Postava, a 24-year-old goaltender making his first NHL start, did the rest, stopping all three Edmonton shooters, Connor McDavid among them, as the Red Wings won 4-3 in a shootout at Rogers Place.

The win closed a four-game western road trip at 2-1-1 and lifted Detroit to 5-4-3 on the season, according to the NHL. More than the extra point, it gave the Red Wings a clean answer to a lopsided 4-1 loss in Calgary two nights earlier, and it gave them a goaltending result worth noting as they return to Little Caesars Arena to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

How the Red Wings came back against the Oilers

Edmonton struck first. Vasily Podkolzin scored at 6:10 of the first period when a centering pass from Leon Draisaitl deflected off two skates, his own and that of Detroit’s Carter Mazur, and into the net, the league’s recap said.

Detroit tied it on the power play at 8:35 of the second period, when Lucas Raymond found Viktor Arvidsson with a cross-ice pass. The third period then went back and forth. Isaac Howard put the Oilers ahead on a power play at 4:18; Emmitt Finnie answered 30 seconds later, with Arvidsson assisting. Colton Dach tipped in a Ryan Shea slap shot at 16:32, a goal that stood after a video review for a possible high stick.

With Postava pulled for an extra skater, Larkin scored at 18:34 off assists from Raymond and Moritz Seider. Postava preserved the tie with nine seconds left in overtime, turning aside a wrist shot by Evan Bouchard, according to the NHL.

In the shootout, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl and McDavid all failed to score for Edmonton, according to the CBS Sports box score. Alex DeBrincat missed for Detroit before Raymond scored the only goal of the round. Raymond finished with two assists and the decisive shootout goal.

Coach Todd McLellan said afterward that against a team like Edmonton, “you can’t let them get the next one,” Detroit Hockey Now reported, adding that his team had responded appropriately.

Michal Postava’s first NHL start

Postava, an undrafted goaltender from Czechia, made 25 saves in regulation and overtime and three more in the shootout, ESPN reported. It was only his second NHL appearance. In his debut last Thursday, he relieved John Gibson in the third period of a 5-2 win at Vancouver and stopped seven of eight shots.

According to the league, he is the third Red Wings goaltender in 25 years to win his first NHL start, after Petr Mrazek in 2013 and Jimmy Howard in 2005. “I feel like a kid,” Postava said after the game, according to NHL.com. Detroit Hockey Now noted that he had not allowed more than three goals in a professional game in the United States going back through his last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate.

What the win means for Detroit’s goaltending rotation is not yet clear. The team has not said who will start on Thursday.

Red Wings vs. Oilers recap by the numbers

Final	Red Wings 4, Oilers 3 (shootout)
Shots on goal	Detroit 29, Edmonton 28
Detroit goals	Arvidsson (PP), Finnie, Larkin; Raymond (shootout)
Goaltenders	Postava 25 saves; Tristan Jarry 26 saves
Records	Detroit 5-4-3 (13 points); Edmonton 8-2-2
Road trip	Detroit 2-1-1

Two smaller notes: Seider’s assist on Larkin’s goal tied Dennis Seidenberg for the third-most assists by a German-born defenseman in NHL history, with 207, according to the league. And McDavid, stopped by Postava in the shootout, still extended his season-opening point streak to 12 games with an assist.

What it means and what’s next for Detroit

Twelve games in, the Red Wings are 5-4-3 with 13 points in the Atlantic Division, according to ESPN. A point stolen from an Edmonton team that entered the night at 8-2-1 (8-2-2 after the shootout loss) is the kind of result that keeps an uneven start from sliding. Detroit also leads the season series with the Oilers, 1-0.

The Red Wings return home to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena. The team lists the game as a national broadcast on ESPN+. Detroit Hockey Now noted it will be Detroit’s first meeting with Patrick Kane since his three seasons with the Red Wings; Chicago’s roster also includes Connor Bedard.

Before Red Wings vs. Blackhawks on Thursday

1. Note the time: puck drop is 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Little Caesars Arena.
2. Plan how to watch: the team lists the game as a national broadcast on ESPN+, so have that subscription ready.
3. Check the Red Wings schedule page on game day for any broadcast or time changes.
4. Watch for the starting goaltender, which teams typically confirm close to game time; Detroit has not announced whether Postava will start again.

For scores from every Detroit team, see our latest Detroit sports scores, and for channel numbers on game nights, our Detroit game-day TV guide. The full Red Wings schedule is on the team’s official site, and the league’s full game story is at NHL.com.

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