RECAP: Red Wings fall to Oilers, 5-2

DETROIT --The Detroit Red Wings, playing their first game back from the 2023 NHL All-Star break, dropped a 5-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Tempers flared and multiple post-whistle scrums occurred during Tuesday's game, which saw Tyler Bertuzzi open the scoring for the Red Wings at 10:24 of the first period. After the Oilers tallied three straight second-period goals, Joe Veleno cut Detroit's deficit to one at 19:51 of the middle frame. But Edmonton reclaimed its two-goal lead, 4-2, with less than five minutes left in regulation before sealing the win with a late empty-netter.
"They just scored at the right time and we didn't have the same response," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. "But I'm proud of the way we battled and stuck together. We stood up for ourselves."
Goalie Ville Husso made 23 saves for Detroit, which now sits at 21-20-8 overall this season. With the victory, the Oilers improved to 29-18-4 (62 points).
"We had some looks," head coach Derek Lalonde said." But it just didn't go our way tonight with the offense."
NEXT UP:The Red Wings will host Star Wars Night on Thursday when Detroit takes on the Calgary Flames for a 7 p.m. puck drop at Little Caesars Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

Detroit 1, Edmonton 0 (10:24, 1st period)
Bertuzzi buried an impressive backhand feed from Raymond, beating Oilers netminder Jack Campbell for the lone goal of the first period. With the primary assist on Bertuzzi's goal, Raymond (38-52--90 in 131 career NHL games) has the third-most points in franchise history before age 21, trailing only Steve Yzerman (83-135--218 in 211 career games) and Gordie Howe (35-68--103 in 158 career games). Larkin was credited with the secondary assist.

Edmonton 1, Detroit 1 (3:02, 2nd period)
Ryan McLeod took Philip Broberg's cross-ice feed and converted a shot from the right faceoff circle to even the score.
Edmonton 2, Detroit 1 (3:38, 2nd period)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set up Warren Foegele on an odd-man rush to put the Oilers up by one.
Edmonton 3, Detroit 1 (11:55, 2nd period)
Foegele tipped in Vincent Desharnais' point shot for his second goal of the middle frame.
Detroit 2, Edmonton 3 (19:51, 2nd period)
Shortly after a successful Red Wings penalty kill, Veleno took a slick pass from Moritz Seider and ripped home a shot from the left faceoff circle. Jake Walman was credited with an assist on Veleno's seventh tally of the season.

Edmonton 4, Detroit 2 (15:38, 3rd period)
Tyson Barrie's pass went to Nugent-Hopkins in the left faceoff circle, who scored a power-play goal to extend the Oilers' lead.
Edmonton 5, Detroit 2 (17:33, 3rd period)
Evander Kane put the game away with an empty-netter.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on Bertuzzi
"I think finishing helps. You can see his game building of late. He just needs reps."
Larkin on his evaluation of Tuesday's game and trying to shut down players like McDavid
"We just didn't capitalize. (Campbell) Camp played well and pucks were laying around him. We just didn't get a stick on them. We weren't hard enough. Like I said this morning, it's hard enough when those guys are out there and our whole game plan is to shut them down."
Larkin on the Red Wings not getting the start they'd hoped for following the break
"That's an extremely difficult test coming out of a break. I thought we played with emotion. The crowd was into it. It was difficult to play a team like that, but we responded and were right there. But, just not enough. It is frustrating that we can't find traction, but there's still a little bit of time for us."