Michal Postava wins first NHL start as Red Wings rally past Oilers 4-3 in a shootout

Final (shootout): Red Wings 4, Oilers 3. Michal Postava made 25 saves in his first NHL start, then stopped all three Edmonton attempts in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings came from behind three times to beat the Oilers at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Monday night, Oct. 26.

Lucas Raymond scored the only goal of the shootout and had two assists in regulation. Dylan Larkin forced overtime with an extra-attacker goal late in the third period. The game drew wide attention for two reasons: a 24-year-old goalie’s breakout night, and Connor McDavid adding yet another chapter to his record-setting start to the season.

Who is Michal Postava?

Postava is a 24-year-old undrafted goaltender from Czechia, according to the Canadian Press. Monday was only his second NHL game. He made his debut last Thursday, stopping seven of eight shots after replacing John Gibson to start the third period of Detroit’s 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, NHL.com reported.

Against Edmonton, he kept one of the league’s most dangerous attacks in check. His biggest save in overtime came with nine seconds left, when he stopped a wrist shot from the slot by Evan Bouchard.

“It’s amazing, I feel like a kid,” Postava told NHL.com. “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.”

According to NHL.com, he is just the third Red Wings goalie in the past 25 years to win his first NHL start. Petr Mrazek (2013) and Jimmy Howard (2005) are the others.

How the game unfolded

Edmonton led three separate times, and Detroit answered each time.

Goal times from the NHL.com recap.

Podkolzin’s opener came off a Leon Draisaitl centering pass that deflected off his skate and then off Detroit’s Carter Mazur before going in. Howard’s power-play goal in the third was his first since Oct. 28, 2025, and Finnie tied it again just 30 seconds later off a feed from Arvidsson.

Dach’s tip of a Ryan Shea point shot, confirmed after a video review for a possible high stick, looked like it might hold up. But with Postava pulled, Larkin collected a pass from Raymond off his skates, kicked it up to his stick and slipped it between Tristan Jarry’s pads.

Jarry made 26 saves for Edmonton.

McDavid’s streak keeps rolling

The Oilers lost, but McDavid still made history. His assist on Monday stretched his season-opening point streak to 12 games, and he now has 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in that run, per NHL.com.

• He matched the longest season-opening assist streak in NHL history at 12 games, tying Sebastian Aho, Ken Linseman and Wayne Gretzky.
• The Canadian Press said he set an Oilers record for most points before Nov. 1.
• His 32 points in October rank fourth all-time for a single October, NHL.com said, behind two Mario Lemieux seasons and one by Gretzky.

Draisaitl’s six-game goal streak ended, but he extended his point streak to seven games.

Zach Hyman injury

The worrying news for Edmonton was forward Zach Hyman, who left in the second period after a hit from Detroit defenseman Andreas Englund sent his head into the glass. The Canadian Press described it as what looked to be a concussion; the team had not given a diagnosis in the game reports.

“He was injured before. Anytime you get injured twice, you know it’s not a good sign,” Oilers coach Mike Babcock said, noting Hyman had already missed six games with an undisclosed injury from the season opener.

What it means and what’s next

• Red Wings (5-4-3): finished a four-game road trip 2-1-1 after a 4-1 loss in Calgary on Saturday. They host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
• Oilers (8-2-2): have lost two straight after a three-game winning streak. They host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

“I’m really proud of the group, we responded well after what happened in Calgary,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said, crediting the penalty kill and Postava.

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