GAME RECAP: Red Wings 4, Oilers 2

DETROIT, MI – Not enough air in the tires for a comeback in the Motor City.

The Edmonton Oilers suffered their third consecutive defeat on Sunday afternoon after captain Dylan Larkin recorded two goals and two assists for the Detroit Red Wings, who earned their fifth straight victory with a 4-2 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

"Certainly not for a lack of effort," Leon Draisaitl said. "I think everyone's trying really hard, but it's tough going right now. It's not easy when you're not seeing it and plays are closing down quickly, so it's got to be better."

Noah Philp recorded his second goal of the season to make it 2-1 in the second period, while forward Leon Draisaitl's fourth tally of the campaign in the final frame made it a one-goal game before winger Emmitt Finnie's empty-netter late in regulation secured the Red Wings the two points with a 4-2 victory.

Finnie's first career NHL goal came in the middle stanza to make it 2-0 for Detroit after Larkin opened the scoring en route to his four-point performance.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner was denied his 100th career victory after making 22 saves on 25 shots, while John Gibson earned the win in the opposite crease after allowing two goals on 18 shots.

The Oilers will conclude their five-game road trip on Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre against the Ottawa Senators in the nation's capital.

SKINNER SEARCHING FOR 100TH CAREER WIN

Besides the two points that were up for grabs, goaltender Stuart Skinner had something extra to play for in the Motor City.

The Edmonton-born shotstopper came into Sunday's matinée looking to pick up his milestone 100th career victory in his 177th NHL appearance, and he started strongly with a critical breakaway stop on Andrew Copp in the opening minutes that came off a turnover by Adam Henrique in the neutral zone.

Skinner stopped all seven shots he faced from the Red Wings in a scoreless first period, with none bigger than his early intervention on Copp that helped settle the Oilers down in the second of back-to-back games. Making his fourth start of 2025-26, Skinner had been solid with a 1-1-1 record, 1.98 GAA and .921 save percentage and a shutout at this early stage of the campaign as he looked to build on his good start with another quality appearance in Detroit.

A win over the Red Wings would've made him the third-fastest Oilers netminder to reach 100 wins in NHL history, ahead of Cam Talbot (212), who was on the other bench backing up John Gibson on Sunday, and behind club legends Andy Moog (163) and Grant Fuhr (174).

Skinner wasn't the only one chasing Michigan milestones, with Isaac Howard looking for his first NHL goal while making his first trip back to the state where he won the Hobey Baker Award with the Michigan State Spartans as the NCAA's top player last season.

With David Tomasek a healthy scratch in Detroit to get Noah Philp back in the lineup, winger Matt Savoie was given the opportunity to play on Edmonton's top power-play unit, with the St. Albert product still chasing his first career goal in his 11th NHL game – his sixth with the Oilers this season.

LARKIN LEADS THE WAY

Centre Dylan Larkin was driving the bus during the second period in the Motor City.

The Red Wings captain recorded two goals and an assist in the middle frame, tying the League lead for goals with seven and helping lift Detroit into a 3-1 advantage after 40 minutes despite Noah Philp notching his second career NHL goal with a pinpoint deflection to halve the deficit.

Larkin won an offensive-zone draw near the nine-minute mark of the frame and ripped home a one-timer from the slot past Skinner before he put a puck on net three minutes later that led to winger Emmitt Finnie's first career NHL goal, giving the Red Wings a 2-0 advantage with 8:06 remaining in the period.

The Oilers were unable to capitalize on their only power play of the game midway through the frame after going 0-for-3 on Saturday against the Devils, with their execution on the man advantage being part of a team-wide lack of connectedness in recent games that Coach Knoblauch said must change.

"A lot of it is executing, spending time in the offensive zone, making the other team defend, and we haven't made them defend very much in the last couple of games," he said. "At home I think we did, but these last three games, I think we haven't put the opposition in a position to defend, and when you don't do that, you're not going to draw many penalties."

Philp was back in the lineup for the first time in three games since scoring his first NHL goal in a 3-1 win over the Canucks on Oct. 11 at Rogers Place, and the Canmore product rewarded Knoblauch for including him in his plans on Sunday with a sweet deflection that got Edmonton back in it.

Winger Vasily Podkolzin made a great play by turning at the top of the blueline with possession to fire a chest-high shot from distance on goal, but the ensuing deflection from Philp was even more sweet, seeing the 27-year-old knock it down to put it through Gibson's five-hole for his second career goal.

Philp has goals in each of his last two games, while Brett Kulak recorded his 98th assist and 70th points with the Oilers as he closes in on 100 career helpers.

However, the Red Wings would get their goal back before the intermission from their main man Larkin, who just can't seem to stop scoring right now.

With 2:55 left in the period, Larkin put a routine shot towards goal from the right halfboards that managed to find its way through Skinner's five-hole off the skate of Mattias Ekholm in front, restoring the two-goal lead at 3-1 heading into the third period.

The Oilers were reduced to 11 forwards early in the second period after Kasperi Kapanen exited due to injury, with Head Coach Kris Knoblauch having no update to provide on the forward post-game.

NOT ENOUGH IN THE THIRD PERIOD

The Oilers poured the pressure on, but there wasn't enough air in the tires for a comeback.

Leon Draisaitl set us up for an exciting conclusion on Sunday with his fourth goal of the campaign 7:33 into the final frame, with Brett Kulak's 99th career assist finding the German wide open for a back-door tap-in that made it 3-2 for the Red Wings with over half a period to play.

Draisaitl skated in his 796th career game to move him out of a tie with Kelly Buchberger (795 GP) for the seventh most games played in franchise history, while tying Shawn Horcoff (796 GP) for the sixth most games played in franchise history.

Draisaitl had a glorious chance in the final five minutes to tie the game up, picking up a loose puck for a breakaway where it bobbled off his stick in cruel fashion as the chance escaped the Oilers with opportunities to equalize becoming fewer and fewer before they pulled Skinner for the extra attacker.

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be after rookie Emmitt Finnie was able to escape the zone at six-on-five and slide a slow backhand into the empty net for his second goal of the contest despite Mattias Ekholm's best efforts to deny it by diving to make the attempted clearance.

Time ran out in a 4-2 defeat, which was Edmonton's third straight loss before they travel to Ottawa for the final game of their five-game road trip on Tuesday.