PREVIEW: Red Wings open Western Canada leg of four-game road trip in Edmonton on Thursday

The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Wednesday morning before departing for Edmonton. Patrick Kane (upper body) and Vladimir Tarasenko (illness) both participated, but J.T. Compher (upper body) and Jeff Petry (undisclosed) did not.

Per McLellan, he doesn’t expect Kane to play on Thursday but expects Tarasenko to return to the lineup. Compher will travel with the team on this road trip, while Petry will not.

Tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division at 67 points apiece, the Oilers most recently defeated the Kraken, 4-2, on Monday.

Captain Connor McDavid, who scored a goal in his return from a three-game suspension on Monday, leads the defending Western Conference champions in assists (45) and is second in goals (21) and points (66) behind Leon Draisaitl (35-40—75) this season. In 33 games, netminder Stuart Skinner has a 19-11-3 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts.

“I had the luxury of coaching them,” McLellan said about McDavid and Draisaitl. “The two of them are elite separately and super elite together. They play a completely different game. One is fast, one slows it down with passing and vision.”

Seider said the best way to defend against Edmonton’s star power is to do so as a five-man unit.

“Really focusing on keeping them to the outside, eliminating chances from the inner slot and try to eliminate extended D-zone shifts,” Seider said. “I think the more we have the puck, the better we’ll be and the more offense we’ll play.”