On the Wings

Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Oilers won the first meeting 3-1, dealing the Wings their third loss in a row at the time. The teams split the 2005-2006 season series 2-2, with Edmonton winning the first two (4-3 OT, 6-5 OT), and Detroit winning the last two (4-3 SO, 2-0). The teams then met in the first round of the playoffs, with the Oilers winning in six.

The Oilers have lost three in a row, including a shootout loss in Montreal last night. It was the first game of a five-game road trip that will take them on to play Columbus, St. Louis, and Colorado, giving them a good chance of improving on their 1-4-1 road record so far this season. They are fourth in the Northwest Division, ahead only of Calgary, but they are in ninth place in the conference, just a point behind Colorado.

Free agent acquistion Peter Sykora seems to be performing well. He leads the team with 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists), and scored the equalizer in the thrid period of last night’s game. It doesn’t look like Dwayne Roloson has been the rock for the team this season that he was during the playoffs, posting a 6-5-1 record and a 2.54 GAA. The NHL.com preview reports that he is 4-10-1 in 18 career games against Detroit.

The Wings are riding a six-game win streak, having won each game since losing to Edmonton on October 21st. They are, “looking forward to making amends for that,” loss, as Ted Kulfan quotes Mike Babcock as saying.

Mathieu Schneider is expected to make his return to the ice tonight after missing three games due to a groin injury.

Tonight’s a good opportunity for the Wings to pick on a struggling team. The Oilers’ speed won’t make it easy, but if they play strong defensively like they have been, they should be able to pull out the win. It will be good preparation for Friday night’s game against Nashville, who are on a five-game win-streak at the moment.