The Red Wings road trip through Western Canada so far as been a disaster. In both games, they had a lead going into the third period and in both games they lost it. Their losing efforts as of late have plummeted them to the bottom of the standings where, after the Los Angeles Kings won their matinee game yesterday, they sit in last place.

The good news is they roll into Edmonton tonight where they won’t be the biggest disaster. The Oilers are currently out of playoff contention, though by a mere three points, and Peter Chiarelli seems determined to sink them even further. Yesterday, he waived Ryan Spooner, effectively turning Jordan Eberle into nothing. Then, it was announced that Mikko Koskinen, the goalie whose played a mere 31 NHL games, has been extended for three years at a $4.5-million AAV. He’ll apparently be their starting goalie of the future.

But enough about their head office moves. What about their play on the ice as of late? The Oilers are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and 12-12-1 at home. Funnily, they are 11-11-2 on the road, making them a perfectly even and balanced team. Thanos would like them. In their only other game against the Red Wings this year, the Oilers won by a score of 4-3.

Dennis Cholowski will sit for another game, much to the chagrin of the Red Wings fan base. Blashill must have liked the year Filip Hronek played in his 14+ minutes of ice time against the Canucks.

He must’ve liked how the whole lineup played since there is no change to the lines at all. The Vanek-Nielsen-Mantha lined contributed both goals in the game on Sunday afternoon. Both goals were at 5-on-5 as the Wings again went scoreless on the power play, something that has been nagging them all season.

What more can be said about the Oilers? Jesse Puljujarvi, the frequent target of trade speculation, has played himself onto the top line with Connor McDavid. The recently-waived Ryan Spooner is still holding down a third line spot and Leon Draisaitl anchors the second line.

Their blue line is devastated with injury right now, with Oskar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera are still out, leaving Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse to lead the top line.

Jimmy Howard vs. Mikko Koskinen

The newly-extended Mikko Koskinen will get the start tonight as he steps forward as the Oilers starting goalie for the next three years. He’ll be up against the not yet-extended Jimmy Howard.

Puck drop is going to be at 9:00 P.M. ET tonight so make sure you set those alarms nice and loud for tomorrow morning. You’ll be able to watch the game on NBCSN if you’re in the U.S. and pretty much every Sportsnet Channel if you’re tuning in from Canada.

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