The Daily: Red Wings Come Home on High Note; Could Break Even

The Detroit Red Wings come back to Little Caesars Arena after a week and a half long road trip on the west coast holding five of a possible eight points after their shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers led by former Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock Monday night.

Rookie goalie 24-year-old goalie Michal Postava stopped 25 of 28 shots in regulation and was perfect in overtime through the shootout, including stops on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatl, who lead the league in points for the year. Neither found the back of the net on the night, however, and the Red Wings were able to pull out the win thanks to the combined efforts of some of their best forwards.

Four different players wearing the Winged Wheel scored on the night, with Viktor Arvidsson, Emmitt Finnie, and Dylan Larkin scoring in regulation to force a scoreless overtime and the shootout. Lucas Raymond tallied the lone goal between both teams in the extra time over Tristan Jarry.

With the victory the Red Wings enter the last games of the month with a 5-4-3 record, squaring off next against the Chicago Blackhawks as Patrick Kane returns to LCA for the first time since he was playing on the home bench last season. Detroit has the opportunity to end the month with a .500 record with their next two games at home against Chicago and the St. Louis Blues.

For the moment, however, Detroit will be needing to decide how many starts to give Postava with his stellar performance after being thrown into the deep end of the pool. With Daniil Tarasov’s status uncertain and John Gibson’s lackluster start to the year, Postava has plenty of opportunity to get between the pipes and prove he belongs in the Show.

Postava wasn’t the only rookie with an impressive night against the Oilers. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard has been helping to set the pace for the Larkin and Raymond line, drawing high praise from his coaches and the broader media.

While the Norwegian winger didn’t find the scoresheet tonight, he certainly made his impact on Edmonton and the home crowd.