EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers entertain the Detroit Red Wings in their new Alternate Jerseys on Friday night at Rogers Place, with the sharp threads complementing their sharp 6-1-0 record to begin the '19-20 NHL season.
A 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday was highlighted by a five-point night for Connor McDavid and a career-high 49-save performance from Mikko Koskinen, who gets the nod in goal tonight against the Red Wings for his second-consecutive start.
The Oilers also went 2-for-2 on the power play to increase their output percentage with the extra man to 10-for-22 and 45.5 percent - good enough for top spot in the NHL to go along with a penalty kill that sits fifth at 88.5 percent.
"Our goaltending and our special teams have been really good," Leon Draisaitl, who's second in league scoring behind McDavid with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in seven contests, said. "They've been winning us games. I think we have to tighten it up a bit in our 5-on-5 game. Yesterday we had a good practice and video session, and tonight is another chance for us to grow as a team."
The result was another two points for the Oilers, but it was a mixed bag for Head Coach Dave Tippett heading into Thursday's practice.
"To win a game that your goaltender steals and your star player has five points, it all looks fancy on the scoreboard but those two points don't earn you the right to be a playoff team," the bench boss said. "It's how you play and build your team over 82 games that earns you the right to be a playoff team."
A game like Wednesday's is one that the coaching staff can have a field day with in the following video sessions, but Tippett was pleased to see that his players shared the same sentiment of using the tape for its teaching moments.
"I was pleased with the way our players looked at yesterday the same way the coaching staff did," Tippett added. "We won, but we have lots to work on."
Those lessons will be put to the test against a floundering Detroit outfit that's lost three-straight games on the bounce and been outscored 15-4 in the process.
"Obviously we weren't happy with the third period against the Flyers, so we want to keep this thing going in the right direction," forward Zack Kassian said. "We think we haven't even played our best yet, so that's a positive sign for us and tonight's a good test."
CLIPPED WINGS
Make no mistake - the urgency will be there for the Red Wings.
Detroit has given up five goals in each of their last three games, including two-straight 5-1 losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.
"They've lost a couple in a row now, so they're going to be hungry and in need to a win," defenceman Ethan Bear, who scored his first goal of the season against Philadelphia, said. "When you lose a couple, you always want to bounce back. Nobody wants to be a team that loses four straight, so they're going to come in here with a lot of energy and we have to match that."
