The Detroit Red Wings wrap up their four-game road trip tonight in Edmonton, where the challenge is as clear as it gets: slow down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Detroit enters at 4-4-3 and sits 23rd in the NHL standings, while the Oilers are 8-2-1 and holding the league’s fourth-best record. McDavid has been rolling with 15 points, including four goals and 11 assists, over his last four games. Draisaitl is right there too, riding a six-game scoring streak with nine goals and 14 points.
The Red Wings are coming off a 4-1 loss at Calgary on Saturday, but a few pieces in their lineup are still showing life. Lucas Raymond has three goals and two assists for five points over his last five games, and Alex DeBrincat has four goals and three assists for seven points in his past six. Victor Arvidsson has also made an early impact, with four goals and four assists for eight points through 11 games, a stretch that has the Red Wings feeling good about their free-agent pickup.
There’s also a lineup question hanging over Detroit: Will Michal Postava get his first NHL start? The Red Wings haven’t announced anything as of this morning. John Gibson is the other option in net, though he has allowed three or more goals in six of his eight starts this season.
Detroit’s projected forward group has Alex DeBrincat with Emmitt Finnie and Victor Arvidsson on the top line, followed by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp and Carter Mazur are slotted together, while Nate Danielson, JT Compher and Keegan Kolesar make up the fourth line.
On the blue line, the Red Wings are expected to go with Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider, Albert Johansson and Anton Johansson, plus William Wallinder and Justin Faulk. Andreas Englund and Alek Sandin-Pellikka are listed as subs.
Detroit also has injury issues to navigate. Marco Kasper is out with an upper-body injury and is week-to-week, Mason Appleton is also week-to-week with an upper-body injury, and Daniil Tarasov is day-to-day with an undisclosed issue. Neither Kasper nor Appleton is on the road trip.
Edmonton, meanwhile, is trying to bounce back after a 7-2 loss to Toronto. The Oilers have also done plenty of damage lately in this matchup, earning a point against Detroit in eight of the last nine meetings, going 6-2-1 in that span.
The Oilers’ projected top line features Vasily Podkolzin with McDavid and Draisaitl, while Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman are listed on the second unit. Alex Formenton, Owen Michaels and Mathieu Joseph form the third line, with Matt Jones, Colton Dach and Filip Hallander on the fourth.
Edmonton’s defense is anchored by Evan Bouchard, who has an eight-game points streak with three goals and 10 assists. He’s paired in the projection with Ryan Shea, while Jake Walman is with Connor Murphy and Shakir Mukhamadullin is alongside Ty Emberson.
The Oilers have their own injury list, too: Devon Levi is out two weeks with an undisclosed injury, Mattias Ekholm is day-to-day, Jason Dickinson is day-to-day on injured reserve, and Alec Regula and Matt Savoie are both on long-term injured reserve.
Puck drop comes with TV and radio coverage on DSN and 97.1 FM. The odds list Detroit at +1.5 (-148) and Edmonton at -1.5 (+124).
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