PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Red Wings

The Edmonton Oilers wrap up back-to-back games at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings.

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PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Red Wings

DETROIT, MI – The best thing about a back-to-back?

You get to do it all over again tomorrow.

"I think that's a good thing," captain Connor McDavid said. "You don't like sitting on losses, so it'll be nice just to get to Detroit and get going again."

For the Edmonton Oilers, they're hoping to channel that sentiment into a much more connected effort in all facets of their game on Sunday afternoon when they finish off back-to-back games this weekend at Little Caesars Arena against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Oilers fell 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils less than 24 hours ago, which marked their second straight defeat on their current five-game road trip that included a 2-0 shutout victory over the New York Rangers and a 4-2 defeat on Long Island to the New York Islanders.

After facing the Red Wings, the Oilers will head to the nation's capital to wrap things up on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Last night at 'the Rock', the Oilers gave up a shorthanded goal for the second straight game, delivered off the stick of former Oilers winger Connor Brown in the second period, before centre Jack Hughes notched his second goal of the contest just 1:17 later to make it 4-1 for the Devils.

Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a pair of goals for the Oilers, but mistakes and a lack of simplicity in their game ultimately condemned them to defeat.

"I think everybody can be simpler," said Connor McDavid, who picked up two assists in the loss. "Everybody can do things a little bit easier and more predictable for each other; get more pucks to the net and get more bodies to the net. They're all clichés because they work, so it's a nice way to get ourselves out of it, and that'll be the focus moving forward. We'll get back to our game here."

It's still early in the 2025-26 NHL season, but there's a sense of disappointment in the Oilers' dressing room that they weren't able to follow up Thursday's defeat to the Islanders with a better result – whether that's two points in the standings or even an improved effort from the entire group, which wasn't the case on Saturday against the Devils.

Win or lose, the Oilers want to find a way to improve each game, and the captain hopes they can learn from their mistakes quickly against the Red Wings and show a bit more forward progress following back-to-back defeats.

"These two points still count, and we talk about getting off to a good start, and we want to get off to a good start," McDavid said. "So these games matter, and it's important. We didn't find a way to win or get better today, so maybe the second part's a little more important than the first.

"Results matter, but I didn't like that we didn't seem to get any better today."

Things won't get any easier for the Oilers as they get set to conclude their back-to-back against a red-hot Red Wings side that's won four straight games following a 2-1 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

Goaltender John Gibson stopped 31 of 32 shots for his first victory with Detroit and is slated to start against the Oilers opposite of Stuart Skinner, who'll be between the pipes again for Edmonton after Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on 22 shots in yesterday's defeat to the Devils.

Stuart Skinner is one win away from becoming the third-fastest goalie in Oilers history to reach the 100-win mark – currently sitting on 99 career victories through 176 NHL appearances (171 starts).

The Oilers went 1-0-1 against the Red Wings last season and have now earned at least a point in seven consecutive games against them dating back to the 2021-22 season (5-0-2), including three straight meetings at Little Caesars Arena, where they've allowed two goals in each game.