Preview: Red Wings look to halt Edmonton's winning streak

DETROIT -- For Pius Suter, it's been an unconventional start to his NHL career. Results on the ice are starting to show the Detroit Red Wings might have gotten themselves a steal in the offseason.
The second-year center was a surprising free agent signee after he was not extended a qualifying offer from the Chicago Blackhawks, despite earning 27 points on 14 goals and 13 assists as a rookie. Red Wings Executive Vice President & General Manager Steve Yzerman quickly inked the 25-year-old Suter to a two-year deal, hoping to add another foundational piece to the rebuild and Detroit's core of young, talented offensive players.

The transition hasn't been easy. Suter went six games before scratching the scoresheet to start the 2021-22 season. But he has tallied four points in the last two games, and six in the last seven. Suter scored the Red Wings' eventual game-winner in Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, and got Detroit on the board early in the 4-3 overtime win at Buffalo last Saturday.
"He's played two of his better games in a while, and obviously our whole team went through a stretch where we didn't play all that good for three games," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "He's probably had a little bit of an increased role, increased ice time. That makes you feel good.
"He's winning faceoffs, so he's out there in some important faceoffs. He's spent a little more time killing penalties, which gets you a little more ice time as well. Ultimately, he's played good. We need him to be a real good player, and I thought he's been really good the last two games."

Suter and the Red Wings will look to make it three straight wins on Tuesday when Detroit welcomes the upstart Edmonton Oilers to Little Caesars Arena for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop (Bally Sports Detroit, Red Wings Radio Network). Edmonton has won four straight and scored a combined 16 goals in the past three contests. The Oilers currently sit atop the Western Conference Central Division with 18 points.
Edmonton is one of the NHL's most dangerous offensive teams, leading the League in goals per game (4.40) and powerplay percentage (50.0). Leon Draisaitl (23) and Connor McDavid (22) are the top-two points scorers in the NHL, while Mikko Koskinen's seven wins ranks second among goaltenders.
Before playing in the NHL, Suter spent five seasons in his home country of Switzerland, tallying 173 points (83-90-173) and a plus-69 rating in 216 games with the ZSC Lions from 2015-20. After earning MVP honors in 2020, Suter was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Blackhawks before the 2020-21 campaign. Prior to playing in the Swiss National League, Suter spent two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm, alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri from 2013-15.
Suter and Fabbri are now playing together in Detroit, with Suter centering the second line also flanked by Filip Zadina. As Blashill has alluded to multiple times throughout the season, getting consistent results from more than just the top line is a key to playing consistent, winning hockey.
"I thought they were great," Blashill said about Suter's line on Sunday. "And that's what we need. We can't be in a situation where one line is always the line. You need different lines to step up at different times, because through 82 games, no line is gonna be great every single night. So that's where you need to have different lines step up, and I thought they were great tonight."
The Red Wings are 3-1-2 at Little Caesars Arena this season and have scored at least three goals in four home games. Bertuzzi's 15 points are currently tied for sixth in the NHL, while Lucas Raymond (14) and Moritz Seider (10) remain the League's top-two point getters among rookies. Suter and Fabbri have both chipped in with three goals and three assists on the season.