RECAP: Detroit concludes back-to-back set with 4-1 loss in Edmonton

EDMONTON -- Despite a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, the Detroit Red Wings left Rogers Place feeling mostly encouraged by the way they competed against the two-time defending Western Conference champions in the second half of a back-to-back set.

“I thought we came to play,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I actually, this is going to sound strange, think this was one of our better-played games on the trip. We didn’t scramble around quite as much. Yet, when you look at it from an offensive perspective, probably not enough in and around the net. We missed the net and had so many blocked [shots] that there wasn’t a lot of reward for going to the net, so that was disappointing.”

Goalie Cam Talbot had 25 saves for Detroit (17-12-3; 37 points), which saw both its season-high six-game point streak and three-game winning streak snapped. Wrapping up a five-game homestand, Edmonton (14-11-6; 34 points) got 27 saves from netminder Stuart Skinner.

“I thought it was maybe one of our better games of the trip in O-zone time and generating chances,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “They capitalized on their chances. We didn’t.”

After Zach Hyman tipped in a power-play goal to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 14:25 of the first period, Detroit went on its first power play of the night with 2:18 left in the frame when Matt Svoie was called for interference on J.T. Compher.

And although they nearly tied it -- Skinner slid across the crease to stop a one-timer from the left face-off circle by Lucas Raymond 35 seconds into the man advantage – the Red Wings couldn’t convert before the first intermission.

“They started with a power-play goal to get their offense going,” Larkin said. “That was something we tried to avoid and weren’t able to tonight.”

Early in the second period, Detroit’s defense had a long shift and couldn’t keep the hosts off the board, as Mattias Ekholm’s slap shot from just above the left face-off circle got past Talbot to make it 2-0 at 2:46.

Simon Edvinsson crashed to the net and scored his fourth goal of the season to cut the Red Wings’ deficit to 2-1 at 5:41 of the second period. Elmer Soderblom passed the puck up the right wing to Nate Danielson, and the rookie forward patiently skated to the bottom of the right face-off circle before he found the 22-year-old defenseman in the slot.

“He saw open ice and arrived on time,” McLellan said about Edvinsson. “We talk a lot about that…It was good for him to get that. We talk about secondary scoring, and you can get it from defensemen as well.”

The Red Wings got another power play just past the 10-minute mark of the second period but couldn’t even things up. Then, at 17:48, Hyman scored his second goal of the night when he one-timed an impressive behind-the-goal-line feed from captain Connor McDavid to push the Oilers ahead 3-1.

“We backed into our goaltender on the second one, and on the third one we got two D-men that did a pretty good job tonight, but they both left net front alone and it was in. You can’t give that team those types of free opportunities.”

Hyman completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:43 of the third period, getting it to 4-1 and putting things out of reach for the Red Wings.

“The wins and points in the bank are great, but obviously we didn’t get them tonight,” McLellan said when reflecting on Detroit's season-long six-game road trip up to this point. “Sometimes, that can fool you a little bit. But at the end of the year, it doesn’t really matter how you got them. We still have to work on our game.”

NEXT UP: For the finale of their season-long six-game road trek, the Red Wings will take on the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Saturday night.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on finishing up this back-to-back set

“I actually thought we had our legs tonight. We skated better than we did in Calgary, probably better than we did in Vancouver. A back-to-back can do that sometimes. It’s not always a negative. Sometimes, it can be a positive. We did skate better.”

Larkin on Detroit’s performance on the power play

“I think we got some chances. If Ray’s first chance there bounces a little bit through his arm or goes off his skate, however it comes down, it comes down and lays flat right behind him. It is what it is. We generated enough. We did a good job on the entries, supported each other and got some good looks.”

Larkin on defending the Oilers’ star players

“Just being above them. We talked about it a lot before the game. You want to be above them, but those are special players. Connor willed his team to a win tonight. That’s going to happen on a back-to-back coming into this building if you’re not on your toes, not ready and if you don’t know where he is on the ice. He’s going to make you pay, and he made us pay tonight.”

Soderblom on how he viewed Thursday’s game

“It felt like we started off hot. We had good changes in the beginning. If we score on some of those, it’s a different game. I felt we were solid at the start of the game, then we took some penalties. They’re a good team too, so it was a tough loss.”