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Cam Talbot made 31 saves on 35 shots, the Oilers won 59 percent of the faceoffs and failed to capitalize on their two power-play opportunities.
"I didn't think we had a lot of energy," said Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan. "We had some admirable performances by guys that are probably a little further down in the lineup tonight, I thought they played well but we didn't have a lot of energy."
Despite the Oilers mustering early pressure from the opening faceoff, it was the Red Wings who got on the board twice in the first period.
Nick Jensen's point shot, sliding along the ice and seemingly going wide, was tipped neatly by Frans Nielsen at 3:23 to make it 1-0 Red Wings.
Gustav Nyquist then extended the lead at 9:10. Edmonton failed to clear the puck from out front of the net and Nyquist eventually popped a loose puck behind a sprawled-out Talbot.
"We came out and didn't have a terrible start," said Oilers Captain Connor McDavid. "They kind of got a lucky one and the second one we could have avoided."
McDavid played 15:55 Sunday, much lower than he's used to.
"It's not very much fun to sit on the bench but it is what it is," he said regarding the reduced minutes.
McLellan commented on the drop in the top line's ice time following the game.
"Of our 13 games, they've probably been one of our top lines in 11 of those games and they carried the team," he said. "Some nights, they're going to have an off-night."
The Red Wings nearly got up by three after Andreas Athanasiou sliced his way through the middle ice but the puck slid past the right post.
After some of their energy waning in the first, the Oilers rebooted in the second period. The team generated a flurry of chances but couldn't beat Mrazek.
Rookie Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shared a give-and-go that saw Yamamoto unload a one-timer but Mrazek was square to the shot.
