DETROIT -- Teemu Pulkkinen, Riley Sheahan and Pavel Datsyuk each had a goal and an assist to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Joe Louis Arena on Monday.
The Red Wings were outshot 9-0 before getting their first shot on goal 9:21 into the game and trailed 1-0 after the first period.
"Edmonton skates real well; a bunch of kids with energy," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought they started real well. It took us a while to get going. We had our goaltender give up the first one and I thought he played real well after that. Anytime you start and give up an ugly goal and you're on your heels, it takes you while to get going."
Niklas Kronwall and Justin Abdelkader also scored for Detroit (37-17-11). Henrik Zetterberg had three assists and Jimmy Howard made 36 saves. It was the Red Wings' eighth consecutive win against the Oilers and Howard's 12th straight win against Edmonton.
"We spent a lot of time in their end and they got tired," Zetterberg said. "I thought we had much better legs in the second than we did in the third. Once we got the puck deep and spent some time (in their end) we got better."
Rob Klinkhammer and Nail Yakupov scored for Edmonton (18-38-11). Ben Scrivens made 21 saves.
"We had a really strong first, a good 20 minutes, we had some scoring opportunities. In the second period, they turned it up," Oilers coach Todd Nelson said.
The Red Wings scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
Kronwall's power-play goal 21 seconds into the second period tied the game, 1-1. He beat Scrivens with a wrist shot from the high slot, high on the blocker side. Kronwall shot the puck through the legs of Oilers defenseman Mark Fayne for his eighth goal.
Sheahan gave Detroit a 2-1 lead with 5:56 left in the second period. He chipped Gustav Nyquist's cross-crease pass into an empty net for Sheahan's 11th goal.
"I thought we came out strong in the first and then got away from our game plan in the second," Klinkhammer said. "And they kind of took over and we were solid in the third."
Scrivens made a pad save on Thomas Tatar's shot as he skated across the slot 8:54 into the middle period and then denied Tatar as he cut in off right wing, while fending off an Oilers' defenseman. Howard made a glove save coming across the crease on left wing Benoit Pouliot from the bottom of the right circle 5:32 into the third period.
Pulkkinen made it 3-1, 9:21 into the third period. He put in a loose puck from the bottom of the left circle for his third goal.
"The good thing about him is he wants the puck, he wants to shoot the puck," Babcock said.
"He's a talented kid and suddenly Sheahan's line is scoring and that's good for us. He's totally dominated the American Hockey League and he's ready for the next level."
Pulkkinen was leading the AHL in goals and scoring.
"Guys are stronger here and I have to play harder every shift, It worked well tonight," Pulkkinen said.
With the Oilers on a 5-on-3 power play, the Red Wings killed it off after taking two consecutive overlapping penalties late in the third period.
In the third period, Yakupov scored a power-play goal with Scrivens out for the extra attacker to make it 3-2. It was Yakupov's 10th goal.
Abdelkader scored his 17th and Datsyuk his 23rd, each with the net empty.
Klinkhammer opened the scoring 2:15 into the game when he jammed in a rebound that Howard couldn't find for his fifth goal.
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