PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Red Wings 10.26

The Edmonton Oilers host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday in the fourth game of a five-game homestand at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game live on Sportsnet at 7:30 PM MT or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880CHED. Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

OILERS TEAM SCOPE

The Oilers are getting plenty of production from their top trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, all currently in the top three in NHL scoring, but they'll need the rest of their lineup to contribute more when the Red Wings come to town. 

More importantly, they'll need a better effort from top to bottom like the one they saw out of the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

All three of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard pitched in with multi-point nights in a 7-2 defeat, with McDavid & Bouchard extending their respective point streaks to 11 and eight games, while Draisaitl is on a six-game scoring streak with nine goals. But the Maple Leafs overwhelmed them in a one-sided contest, attacking with all four lines and having 13 different players get on the scoresheet.

In between the pipes, Tristan Jarry allowed six goals on 32 shots in comparison to Anthony Stolarz, who made 30 saves to help extend their own win streak to five.

"I thought we were going to be right," Head Coach Mike Babcock said. "We weren't, but give them credit. They got ready, they came in here, they're on a road trip, they got prepared, and they played harder and faster for longer than we did. Better defensively, better offensively, just better."

It was a disappointing result as a whole for the Oilers considering their previous win over the defending champion Hurricanes and how they were undone on home ice by a complete effort from Toronto when they should've been the ones more up for the challenge in an all-Canadian matchup in their own barn.

Babcock blamed the whole group for not putting in the required effort, including himself for not having the group ready to play, something he knows needs to change on Monday against the Red Wings. Edmonton is 2-0-0 following losses this season.

"I loved our last game. I thought it was great," he said. "We played a really good team, and I thought we were ultra competitive. I thought they took over at times. I thought we took over at times.  And my hope for today was that we were going to match that level of compete and then raise it. We didn't do any of that, so that's a step back.  Tonight wasn't good enough, period."

RED WINGS TEAM SCOPE

Like the Oilers, the Red Wings are just off having a six-game point streak snapped in their final trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, falling 4-1 to the Calgary Flames as they look to close out their four-game Western road trip in Edmonton on Monday with a victory to take home.

To keep the theme going, Head Coach Todd McLellan said the Flames were better in multiple areas, especially on special teams, where Calgary scored on both of their power plays and stopped Detroit on both of their chances on the man advantage.

Both the coach & players cited it as one of their poorer efforts of the season.

“I just never really felt like we got traction in the game,” forward Andrew Copp said. “We had some good shifts, maybe a couple good minutes at a time, but never really kind of fully got in control of the game and shift after shift where we were doing all the right things. So, some little mistakes that kind of cost us shifts where it was a good shift, then something happens and all of a sudden, we’re in our own zone, or we’re taking a penalty."

"It wasn’t our best night, for sure. We have one more game to salvage the road trip.”

Forward Alex DeBrincat, who signed a seven-year extension at an AAV of $13 million earlier this month, leads the Red Wings in scoring with six goals 12 points ahead of Lucas Raymond (3G, 6A) and former Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson (4G, 4A).

Goaltender John Gibson made 22 saves in the loss to the Flames and owns a 3-4-0 record, a .867 save percentage and 3.44 goals-against average,

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Oilers have lost in regulation just once in their last nine meetings with the Red Wings, going 6-1-2 and outscoring them 38-26.
• The Oilers haven't lost in regulation in six straight home meetings with the Red Wings, going 4-0-2 and outscoring them 27-17. 
• Last season, the Oilers rebounded from a 4-2 loss in Detroit on Oct. 19 with a 4-1 win at Rogers Place on December 11, levelling the season series at a game apiece.
• Connor McDavid led all Edmonton scorers in the season series with four assists, collecting all four in the Dec. 11 game while Zach Hyman (3G) and Leon Draisaitl (1G, 2A) each snagged three points.
• McDavid's 33 points mark one of the best starts to a season in NHL history and Oilers history.
• He has 33 points on 48 Oilers goals this season. His 68.8% of team goals involved would be the highest in a season in NHL history, breaking his own record (57.4 percent) from 2020-21.
• The Oilers are scoring an NHL-high 4.36 goals per game this season, but they rank 27th in goals against per game (3.55).
• McDavid & Draisaitl are just 5 goals combined on short of tying the Red Wings ‘Production Line’ duo Gordie Howe & Alex Delvecchio (560) for the 4th-most goals combined on by a teammate duo in NHL history.
• McDavid (33), Draisaitl (23) & Evan Bouchard (21) each have 20+ points through 11 games this season. There have only been 6 teams to feature 3+ players with 20+ points through 11 games of a season prior to 2026-27:
  • 2026-27 Oilers 
  • 2005-06 Senators 
  • 1995-96 Penguins 
  • 1988-89 Penguins 
  • 1984-85 Islanders 
  • 1983-84 Nordiques 
  • 1980-81 Kings 

• The Red Wings line of Alex DeBrincat, Emmitt Finnie & Michael Brandsegg-Nygard has been dominant this season with the Red Wings outscoring opponents 8-1 with them on the ice.