Oilers end three-game skid with win against Red Wings

DETROIT -- Six Edmonton Oilers scored in a 6-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.
Darnell Nurse, Pat Maroon, Jujhar Khaira, Mark Letestu, Drake Caggiula and Jesse Puljujarvi each had a goal for the Oilers (8-12-2), who ended a three-game losing streak. Connor McDavid, Ryan Strome and Yohann Auvitu each had two assists, and Cam Talbot made 20 saves to help Edmonton to its second win in seven games.

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"Everyone came to play tonight, and you can see that on the score sheet," Letestu said. "We know those three games weren't the kind of hockey that we are capable of playing, so we went out there with chips on our shoulders and got a win we really needed."
The Oilers were playing one night after an 8-3 loss at the St. Louis Blues. They allowed 18 goals in the three losses.
"We had a meeting today to talk about the way things we were going and the need to make a statement tonight," Khaira said. "We got off to a good start and built from there."

Tomas Tatar and Niklas Kronwall scored for Detroit (10-9-3), which lost the final two of its five-game homestand to finish 2-1-2. Justin Abdelkader had two assists, and Jimmy Howard allowed four goals on 19 shots and was replaced by Petr Mrazek in the second period.
"They won all the battles tonight," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "They are fast and very skilled, and when we don't play with our speed, we are easier to beat."
The Oilers, who had 13 players with at least one point, outshot the Red Wings 14-3 in the second period and scored three goals to break open a game that was tied 2-2 at the end of the first.
"We played the type of game that you need to win games in this league," coach Todd McLellan said. "Instead of needing Connor and Leon [Draisaitl] to get us two or three goals, we had four lines playing hard and contributing to a win."
With Detroit forward Scott Wilson down after blocking a shot, Khaira got to the loose puck and beat Howard to put Edmonton ahead 3-2 at 10:24.
Wilson left the game with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated Thursday.
Letestu, playing his 500th NHL game, gave the Oilers a 4-2 lead at 14:22 when he scored on the rebound of a Michael Cammalleri shot to end Howard's night.

Caggilua made it 5-2 at 18:16, one-timing McDavid's drop pass over Mrazek's blocker.
"I didn't think we were good enough in the first period, but that was certainly better than the second period," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We didn't shoot the puck at all in the second period. This isn't a cute league. If you aren't creating chaos, you aren't making plays."
Puljujarvi scored with 1:05 remaining in the third period to make it 6-2.
Tatar gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:25 of the first period, but Nurse tied the game 1-1 at 8:25.
Maroon put Edmonton up 2-1 at 11:05 when he beat Howard after receiving a cross-ice pass from Draisaitl.
Detroit tied it 2-2 at 18:25 when Kronwall's wrist shot hit Edmonton center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and deflected over Talbot's left shoulder.
"If guys in this room wanted to quit, we could have done it when we got down 1-0 or when we got a lead and then gave up a fluke goal," Letestu said. "We didn't let any of that deter us. That shows the character in this room."

Goal of the game

Maroon's goal at 11:05 of the first period.

Save of the game

Talbot's blocker save on Andreas Athanasiou at 17:37 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

McDavid's pass to set up Caggilua's goal at 18:16 of the second period.

They said it

"We did what we needed to do for 60 minutes tonight, but we need to do it again Friday (against the Buffalo Sabres) and keep playing this way on a consistent basis." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"Anthony Mantha has to be way better. It isn't OK to be a passenger when you are given the opportunity to play impact minutes." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on the performance of their leading goal-scorer

Need to know

The Oilers won in regulation for the first time in 11 road games this season. Each of their three previous road wins came in overtime. … Auvitu's two assists gave him the first multipoint game of his NHL career. … Howard allowed three or fewer goals in 14 of his first 15 starts but allowed four to the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-3 overtime loss Sunday and four more to the Oilers before being pulled.

What's next

Oilers: At the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the New York Rangers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG 2, FS-D, NHL.TV)