Defence a focus for Edmonton Oilers against Detroit

The numbers in the win-loss columns look great for the Edmonton Oilers — as they boast a 6-1 record going into Friday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Place.

However, they’re coming off a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in which the final numbers on the shot clock were astonishingly ugly.

The Flyers outshot the Oilers 52-22.

“The goal is to be much better than that. To be a playoff team, you have to be a team that’s earned a right to be a playoff team,” head coach Dave Tippett said.

“There are things that you can learn from every game. We looked at the Islander game (a 5-2 win), that was our best game of the season so far. We used a lot of positive stuff out of that. The Philadelphia game, we used a lot of stuff out of that, maybe not so positive.”

“We have to tighten it up a little bit on our five-on-five game. Yesterday, we had a good practice, a good video session. It’s a good chance for us to grow as a team tonight,” Leon Draisaitl said.

The Oilers spent much of the game against the Flyers hemmed in their own zone and fumbled numerous chances to clear the puck.

“We have to make more sound plays coming out, have a better understanding where each other is going to be coming out,” defenceman Darnell Nurse said.

This will be the first meeting between the two clubs since Ken Holland was hired as General Manager of the Oilers. He was the Red Wings GM for 22 years before being replaced by Steve Yzerman in the summer.

“I’m sure it will be a little weird for him to cheer for our team instead of the red and white. Hopefully, he will cheer for us,” Draisaitl joked.

The Oilers expected lineup is:

• Draisaitl – McDavid – Kassian
• Neal – Nugent-Hopkins – Chiasson
• Khaira – Sheahan – P. Russell
• Jurco – Haas – Archibald
• Klefbom – Russell
• Nurse – Bear
• Manning – Benning
• Koskinen

You can catch the Oilers and Red Wings on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.