For some strange reason, I could see an overtime defeat coming from a mile away.
Have you ever started watching a hockey game and then thought to yourself "this is not going to end well?"
That's the feeling I got with this hockey game.
Unfortunately, when I get said feeling, it almost always ends up being confirmed.
The Edmonton Oilers did just that on Monday, losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Detroit Red Wings. The loss represented the Oilers' second overtime loss of the season and the beginning of the team's first multi-game winless run of the season.
One positive run that was extended on Monday? The Oilers have not yet lost a game in regulation when they have scored at least three goals; the team's record in those games so far this season is 8-0-2.
Here's where things went right (and wrong) in Monday's contest.
Good goaltending duel between veteran Tristan Jarry and rookie Michal Postava
I've got to give my respect to Red Wings goaltender Michal Postava, who was making his inaugural NHL start on Monday against the Oilers. Even though he gave up a goal relatively early on in the game, he was able to buckle down and keep the Red Wings in the game; Detroit ultimately tied it up midway through the second.
Ultimately, Postava made 25 saves on 28 shots faced, which yielded a .893 save percentage. He also got the win in a first NHL start that many rookie goaltenders would fear and then find that not getting pulled is an achievement.
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That said, the Oilers' goaltending unit was up for the challenge from the rookie goaltender. Tristan Jarry bounced back from his struggles on Saturday against Toronto, only giving up three goals on 29 shots faced for a .897 save percentage.
Though the Oilers ultimately lost the game, Jarry was able to match the product on the other end of the ice and keep his team in the game. He made smart saves throughout the game; outside of a few second-period chances, he didn't have to face that much in the way of second opportunity scoring.
There is still a lot of work to do for this goaltending unit to reach the highs it had found just a few games back, but at least they're back on track to some capacity.
Vasily Podkolzin is back on the board. The offense as a whole? Let's hold our horses there.
After going without a point in two consecutive games, Vasily Podkolzin got back on the board against the Red Wings. He scored the Oilers' opening goal of the game to bring his goalscoring tally to eight and his total point haul to 13 in 12 games.
That said, the goalscoring chances are as MIA (missing in action) as Jason Bourne. Like how an all-star cast of Walton Goggins, Tommy Lee Jones, and Brian Cox couldn't track Bourne down across four movies, Oilers fans across the planet cannot track down the goalscoring chances once again.
What's worse? The Red Wings outpaced the Oilers in that category for much of the game. And the Red Wings entered the night with one of the league's lower goals scored per game rates, though they were 12th in total shots.
By the end of the second period, Detroit had put together a 23-12 advantage in shots on goal. The Oilers would outshoot the Red Wings 16-6 the rest of the way, but the latter's early dominance in that regard earned them a foothold in the contest.
Owen Michaels is still finding a way to get involved ...
While Owen Michaels is going through his second multi-game point drought, he was nonetheless able to get involved in a wide variety of situations.
One situation saw him placed on the penalty kill alongside the likes of Connor McDavid. Even though former Oiler Viktor Arvidsson converted the power play opportunity for the Red Wings, Michaels did well to help Edmonton slow Detroit's momentum and take away goalscoring opportunities.
Elsewhere, Michaels nearly drew a couple penalties on Dylan Larkin and he also recorded a hit. Though his 13 minutes of ice time doesn't come close to reflecting his on-ice involvement, he is still getting a considerable number of shifts.
... but other depth forwards are catching up
That said, Michaels needs to start putting more point-scoring performances together.
Though the Oilers' forward situation doesn't pose any risk to his roster spot right now, the chance he falls out of favor could increase if he can't fill the gap left by Jason Dickinson and now Zach Hyman; a head injury picked up against Detroit could mean that the latter has to sit out for a week.
And while Michaels hasn't been able to deliver in recent games, others have.
Isaac Howard finally got his first goal of the campaign during the third period of action against the Red Wings. A high-sticking penalty forced by Podkolzin earned the Oilers a power play and indirectly triggered a five-minute spell in the Red Wings' zone; the Oilers earned a second power play right after the one drawn by Podkolzin. Howard scored right at the end of the second opportunity to restore Edmonton's one-goal lead, with Colton Dach picking up the secondary assist on the goal.
Emmitt Finnie would bring the Red Wings level once again, but Dach had the answer. His first goal of the season came with three-and-a-half minutes left in regulation and it had the Oilers in prime position to pull off another victory.
Yeah ... said prime position was about as stable as a board on top of a yoga ball.
But even then, Dach and Howard's performance on Monday puts the ball into Michaels' court.
Can he respond?
What's next?
The Oilers will conclude their five-game homestand against the Calgary Flames in what will be the first edition of the Battle of Alberta. Puck drop will take place at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
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