English
Czech goaltender Michal Postava delivered a standout performance in his first NHL start on Monday, helping the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout. Postava made 25 saves in regulation and stopped three more attempts in the shootout to secure the win. Lucas Raymond scored the shootout winner and added two assists in the victory.
“It’s amazing, I feel like a kid,” Postava said after the game. “I watched all those NHL games when I was young, and I didn’t expect to one day be in the net and win the game. Now I’m just so happy.”
Stay connected to every major update — subscribe and follow us on the PhoenixQ website and across our social media platforms.
A Historic Debut for the Undrafted Czech Netminder
Postava, a 24-year-old undrafted goaltender from Czechia, had technically appeared in one previous NHL game. He replaced John Gibson in the third period of a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks last Thursday. However, Monday marked his first career start.
With the win, Postava became only the third Red Wings goaltender in the past 25 years to win his first NHL start. He joined Petr Mrazek, who achieved the feat in 2013, and Jimmy Howard, who did so in 2005.
Furthermore, Postava became just the third goaltender in NHL history to win his first career start against a team featuring the league’s top two leading scorers. Edmonton forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both entered Monday’s game at the top of the scoring charts.
“It’s crazy,” Postava said. “You look at how many points they have so far, and I think they’re two of the best players in the world right now. So maybe it was more amazing for me to win.”
“I was excited and a little nervous, just like I am for every game,” he added. “But it was my first NHL start, so I just tried to enjoy the game and play my best hockey. I think I can be better next time, but it was an important win for us.”
McLellan Praises Young Goaltender
Detroit head coach Todd McLellan expressed confidence in his young netminder after the game. “He’s very athletic. We think he anticipates so well and can read where the shot release is going,” McLellan said.
McLellan also referenced the organization’s decision to trade away prospect Sebastian Cossa, a first-round pick. “When you trade a first-round draft pick, a future goalie away, you should know what you have,” he said. “We had a pretty good idea that Postava was what you saw tonight.”
Red Wings Show Resilience in Edmonton
Detroit trailed three times during the contest. However, the Red Wings tied the game with just 1:17 remaining in the third period. A bouncing puck found Dylan Larkin in front of the net, and he shovelled it in for his second goal of the season.
It was the third time this season that Detroit scored a game-tying goal in the final two minutes of regulation. That stands as the most among all NHL clubs this season.
“Against this team you can’t let them get the next one,” McLellan said. “They get rolling, they get a lot of confidence. But we responded appropriately all three times. We’ve been a pretty resilient group for most of the season, and we saw it again tonight.”
Viktor Arvidsson and Emmitt Finnie also scored for Detroit in regulation. Arvidsson’s goal came on the power play and was his fourth of the season. Only Leon Draisaitl, with six, and Nick Schmaltz, with five, have more power-play goals this season.
The Red Wings improved to 5-4-3 on the season and went 2-1-1 on their Northwestern road trip. “We finished off the road trip in the right way, so it’s been good,” Arvidsson said. “I’m happy for the team that we can go home with a good road trip behind us.”
Meanwhile, defenceman Moritz Seider recorded an assist to tie Dennis Seidenberg at 207 helpers. That places Seider third among all German defencemen in NHL history.
Oilers Suffer Second Straight Loss
For Edmonton, the defeat extended their losing streak to two games. The Oilers fell to 8-2-2 on the season. Vasily Podkolzin, Isaac Howard and Colton Dach scored for Edmonton. In addition, the Oilers lost forward Zach Hyman to what appeared to be a concussion.
Despite the loss, Connor McDavid extended his season-opening points streak to 12 games. He now has a remarkable 34 points in that span. Moreover, McDavid matched the longest season-opening assist streak in NHL history, equalling records previously set by Sebastian Aho, Ken Linseman and Wayne Gretzky.
