Welcome to the NHL, Michal Postava.
The Detroit Red Wings goalie (who actually made his league debut in relief last week) stopped 26 of 28 shots in regulation and overtime in his first career NHL start, as the Wings wrapped up their four-game Western Conference road trip with a 4-3 shootout win at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Monday, Oct. 26.
Postava got the Wings to the shootout with a point-blank stop at the top of the crease with just under 7 seconds left in overtime, and then stopped Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the first two shots of the skills competiton before stoning Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the final victory. Lucas Raymond scored the only goal for the Wings in the shootout.
still needed
Michael Postava's third period
The 24-year-old Czech goalie entered Monday with a 1.25 goals-against average and .954 save percentage with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, but gave up a goal on eight shots over 20 minutes against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Against the Oilers, however, Postava kept the Oilers offense tamped down with 11 saves (on 12 shots) through the first two periods.
The third was a different story, however, as back-to-back penalties left the Wings on the kill for nearly four minutes. After killing off the first penalty, assessed to Viktor Arvidsson seconds into the third but served by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the Wings gave up a goal, by Isaac Howard in a snipe from the left faceoff circle, with 6 seconds left on the second (a trip by Brandsegg-Nygard seconds after leaving the penalty box). The goal was the first of the season for Howard, who won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player in 2025 with Michigan State.
The Wings knotted it at 2-all just 30 seconds later, as Arvidsson – fresh from getting bloodied during his penalty early in the period, delivered a feed to Emmitt Finnie in front of the net for his fifth goal this season.
After a back-and-forth third, the Wings were zapped by a deflection from the left face-off circle by Colton Dach that sent the puck just under the crossbar – but over Postava's left shoulder to break a 2-2 tie.
But with Postava sitting on the bench to give the Wings an extra attacker, the Wings tied it again, as Dylan Larkin scored with 77 seconds left, netting his second goal of the season.
Detroit Red Wings playoff position
The overtime loss kept the Wings (4-4-4) hovering just above the Eastern Conference cellar, with 12 points. That’s two points back of the 14 for the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens (who have the berth thanks to one fewer game played), with the Tampa Bay Lightning holding the first wild-card berth with 15 points. The Wings will have a chance to gain some points on the Florida squads next month, with a two-game, two-night road trip to the Sunshine State on Nov. 2-3.
Dynamic duo dings Wings in first period
The Wings got an early taste of why the Oilers are a top-five offense in the NHL, as stars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid teamed up to assist on the opening goal, 6:10 into the first period. Draisaitl took a pass from McDavid and fired a shot toward the crease from the far right side of the right faceoff circle. The puck popped past Postava off a ricochet off Vasily Podkolzin, who was tangled with Red Wings forward Carter Mazur at the top of the crease. The assist was McDavid’s 26th in 12 games, the best start for helpers in NHL history (topping Mario Lemieux’s 23 assists in 12 games in 1988-89).
’Cat scratch fever in second
The Wings’ own scoring leader got going in the second, as Alex DeBrincat picked up his 13th point (six goals, seven assists) on Arvidsson’s power play goal, 8:35 into the period. Less than a minute into a power play for a holding call drawn by Dylan Larkin, DeBrincat sent the puck to Lucas Raymond, who then moved it from the far left faceoff circle to Arvidsson waiting on the right side of the net, and he hammered home a one-timer past Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry. Raymond’s assist was his 10th point of the season, but his sixth during the Wings’ four-game Western swing.
The goal came just after a scary moment for former Michigan standout Zach Hyman, as Wings defenseman Anders Englund cleanly checked the Edmonton forward into the boards; Hyman’s head seemingly bounced off the glass, and after a brief moment staying standing, he slumped to the ice and had to be helped into the Oilers locker room.
Hello again, Babs
Monday’s game for the first against the Wings for first-year Oilers coach Mike Babcock since his five-season stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended in 2019. Babcock coached the Wings for 10 seasons (2005-15), going 458-223-105 with the franchise before decamping for Toronto. With the Leafs, Babcock went 11-3-3 against the Wings.
Next up: Hawk eyed
The Wings return to Little Caesars Arena for a two-game homestand, starting with a visit from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+/Hulu). The Blackhawks have been the NHL best cautionary tale about tanking for a rebuild – since landing the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 and using it on generational talent Connor Bedard, the ’Hawks have finished last in the Central Division in three straight seasons, and, at 3-8-0, they appear on pace to do so again. They do have some familiar faces tutoring Bedard, though; former Wings coach Jeff Blashill is in his second season behind the bench in Chicago, while former No. 1 overall pick – and former Wing – Patrick Kane has signed up for his second stint in the Windy City. Kane has a goal and six assists, bringing him to 1,407 career points, good for 24th in NHL history.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Red Wings contain Oilers stars as Michal Postava shines in shootout
