According to Suter, he was sitting near the end of the bench when several Detroit Red Wings players alerted the 26-year-old forward to head to center ice for a shootout attempt against Edmonton Oilers goalie Jack Campbell.
"Everybody was turning around, so then I knew, but I already had a move in my mind because I saw something I liked earlier," said Suter, who went on to score the deciding goal in Detroit's 5-4 shootout victory over Edmonton on Wednesday night at Rogers Place. "It worked out well. This was a huge team win."
Finding the back of the net for the fourth straight game, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:17 of the first period before Moritz Seider doubled Detroit's lead, 2-0, roughly 13 minutes later. Robby Fabbri and Olli Maatta both scored in the middle frame for Detroit, which entered the second intermission with a 4-2 advantage. Early in the third, the Oilers pulled even, 4-4, with a pair of quick goals. The Red Wings and Oilers each registered two shots on goal in a scoreless overtime.
David Perron also netted a shootout tally for Detroit (25-20-8; 58 points), which won its fourth straight game to match a season-high the club set from Nov. 17-25. Red Wings netminder Ville Husso made 41 saves against Edmonton (30-19-6; 66 points), collecting his 21st win of the season.
"Just winning on the road is difficult period," Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. "Let alone against a team like that with the type of difference they have."
NEXT UP:Detroit will play the second half of a midweek back-to-back on Thursday night, squaring off against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Puck drop is set for 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT.