Up next: Edmonton Oilers

DETROIT -A year ago, the Edmonton Oilers, the Red Wings' next opponent this Saturday at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m. face-off), were the darlings of the NHL.
They arguably have the best player in the world in center Connor McDavid and were coming off a 103-point 2016-17 campaign where they had qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.

Expectations were through the stratosphere for the Oilers, but they tumbled back in the standings, finishing with a meager 78 points and missed the playoffs for the 11th time in the past 12 years.
McDavid performed like a superstar, but the rest of the Oilers either grossly underachieved or dealt with injuries or personal issues, which had a profound impact on their play.
But instead of retooling the roster this offseason, Edmonton is handcuffed because they have $33 million in salary tied up among four forwards, McDavid, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl.
So if the Oilers hope to prove they're the 103-point team of two seasons ago and not last year's 78-point disaster, they will need to improve from within since they essentially have the same cast of players from last season.
The Skinny:
Edmonton finished 36-40-6 last season, good for 78 points. They placed sixth in the Pacific Division and 23rd overall in the NHL. The Oilers missed the playoffs primarily because they rated in the bottom third in almost every major team category in the league. Their 2.79 goals per game was 20th in the league and their goals-against average of 3.20 per game ranked 27th overall. Edmonton's power play clicked at a measly 14.8 percent, making it the league's worst power play and their penalty kill rate of 76.7 percent checked in at 25th overall. In one-goal games, the Oilers were a mediocre 18-13-6 for a winning percentage of .567. Through 12 games this season, the Oilers are 7-4-1 for 15 points, which is good for third in the Pacific Division.
The last time:
On November 22, 2017, the Oilers downed the Red Wings 6-2 at Little Caesars Arena. Six different Oilers scored in the game, with McDavid, Ryan Strome, and Yohan Auvitu dishing out two assists each to lead Edmonton's offensive barrage. Tomas Tatar and Niklas Kronwall scored for the Wings with Justin Abdelkader picking up an assist on both goals.
The forward corps:
McDavid (41-67-108) led the NHL in scoring last season, but after him the Oilers experienced a significant drop-off in point production. Draisaitl (25-45-70) was second in scoring, followed by Nugent-Hopkins (24-24-48). The point differential between first and second (38 points) and first and third (60 points) is staggering. For Edmonton to regain its playoff form, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins must improve from last season's point production, along with veteran Milan Lucic (10-24-34), youngster Jesse Puljujarvi (12-8-20) and rookie Kailer Yamamoto, who had 21 goals among his 64 points in 40 games for Spokane last season in the WHL. Through their first 12 games, McDavid (9-10-19), Nugent-Hopkins (3-11-14) and Draisaitl (7-7-14) are pacing the Oilers' offensive attack up front.
The blueline:
Highly touted Darnell Nurse (6-20-26), Oscar Klefbom (5-16-21), Adam Larsson (4-9-13) and Kris Russell (4-17-21) are Edmonton's top four defensemen. The Oilers struggled at both ends of the ice last season as Klefbom played with a bum shoulder that required surgery and Larsson lost his father, which took an emotional toll. The Oilers are counting on their blueline to rebound this season. When they play up to their potential, Edmonton's back end is a solid unit. Evan Bouchard, the Oilers first-round pick, 10th overall, in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft - a player many believed the Red Wings would have selected sixth overall if Filip Zadina had not been available - has played in seven games for the Oilers and is experiencing some growing pains. In seven games, Bouchard has one goal (power play), is minus-5 and is averaging 12:21 of ice time per game. Much like Detroit faced with Michael Rasmussen, the Oilers must decide if they should keep Bouchard or send him back to juniors before he plays his 10th game. Once he hits 10 games played, the first year of his three-year entry level contract kicks in. Klefbom (0-5-5), Nurse (1-4-5), and Russell (0-4-4) are leading Edmonton's blueline in scoring through 12 games. Friday afternoon, the Oilers made a decision on Bouchard.

The net:
Cam Talbot was stellar in goal for the Oilers during their 103-point season, winning 42 games. However, his play last season was alarming. Talbot was 31-31-3, with a 3.02 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and one shutout. The Oilers were so concerned with his play that they paid $2.5 million to get Mikko Koskinen from the KHL. In 29 games with the KHL's St. Petersburg SKA, Koskinen was 22-4-1, with a 1.57 goals-against average, a .937 save percentage and five shutouts. This season Talbot is 5-4-1 with a 2.81 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Koskinen is 2-0-0, his goals-against average is 1.51 and his save percentage is .955 with one shutout. Talbot is clearly Edmonton's No. 1 netminder, but the Oilers feel Koskinen is a good insurance policy.
The burning question:Are the real Oilers the 103-point team of two years ago or are they more the 78-point squad from last season? If Edmonton is to again become a playoff team, they need Lucic, Talbot and the blueline to be major contributors and not passengers.
The series:
Saturday will be the 130th meeting between the Red Wings and Oilers. Detroit leads the series 65-40-13-11. The Wings are 40-18-3-4 at home and 25-22-10-7 in Edmonton.