DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are desperate for wins as they try to get into the playoffs for the 23rd straight time. On a night in which they barely beat the worst team in the Western Conference, coach Mike Babcock didnt diminish the importance of the much-needed victory. Tomas Tatar scored on Detroits third shootout attempt, and Jimmy Howard stopped all three Edmonton attempts to lift the Red Wings to a 2-1 win over the Oilers on Friday night. "Huge," Babcock said. "Howie, obviously, in the shootout, bailing us out was a real positive for us. "It gives us some confidence." Howard finished with 21 saves. Edmontons Ryan Smyth tied the game midway through the third period. Smyth scored on a shot from the slot that was set up by Detroit defenceman Brendan Smiths backhanded giveaway. "I absolutely didnt expect that," Smyth said. "I thought he was going to throw it around the boards. Smith just threw it up the middle." Riley Sheahan put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 late in the first period. They lost the lead and failed to take advantage of power plays late in regulation and midway through overtime. The banged-up Red Wings are missing numerous key players, including Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, because of injuries and that is forcing players such as Sheahan to go from prospects to NHL players. Sheahan, who played only once in the league in each of the previous two years, said playing 26 games for the Red Wings has made him more comfortable. "Every day is a little step further," he said. "The guys have been awesome. Its a fun atmosphere and a great team to play for." Edmontons franchise is far from the greatness it enjoyed decades ago and is close to being eliminated from the playoff race for the eighth straight season. Oilers coach Dallas Eakins, though, has been pleased with how much effort his players appear to be giving despite their place in the standings. "What weve been preaching to them and they understand, down the stretch are the building blocks for training camp," Eakins said. "We dont want to go into full-teaching mode when we hit training camp. We want to hit the ground running and have a foundation on how were going to play. On a lot of nights, were starting to see how we want to play. "We still have such a long way to go to get up to be able to play with the top teams on a nightly basis, but were taking the necessary steps." The last time the Oilers were in the playoffs they beat Detroit in the first round and went on to lose to Carolina in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup finals. With much less at stake, the Oilers went into the third period with a shot to win at Joe Louis Arena for the first time since 2009. Detroits young lineup didnt generate many scoring chances against Viktor Fasth, who made 22 saves. He was acquired from Anaheim earlier this month for draft picks and won his Oilers debut against Minnesota on Tuesday in a shootout. Each team had only one shot in the opening five minutes of the lacklustre game, which had many more sloppy moments than spectacular stretches. "I didnt think either team was real smooth," Babcock said. "It was kind of a grind." Detroit was up 1-0 after two periods and probably didnt feel comfortable after losing one-third of their previous 27 games when entering the third with the lead. The Red Wings allowed the Oilers to pull into a tie because Smith failed to clear the puck out of their end or at least pass it to a teammate, and Smyth took advantage. "If (Smith) puts it on the guys tape on our team and you skate out through the middle, I like it," Babcock said. "When you turn it over, it doesnt look very good." NOTES: Babcock said he hopes F Darren Helm, who has been out with a concussion since March 4, will play Tuesday night at home against Toronto. ... The Red Wings had lost two straight. ... Edmonton has lost three of four. ... The Red Wings are 13-0-1 in their last 14 against the Oilers, who have lost eight straight in Detroit. Matt Niskanen Jersey .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. Andre Burakovsky Jersey . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. http://www.authentichockeyshopcapitals.c...apitals-jersey/. A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. Dmitry Orlov Jersey . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion. Tom Wilson Jersey . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field.CLEVELAND -- Its easy to see why the Cleveland Indians get a positive vibe whenever Corey Kluber takes the mound. "Klubes has pitched to the point where, heck yeah, you better play with confidence," manager Terry Francona said. "Hes one of the best pitchers in the league." Kluber (12-6) continued his dominant stretch by allowing one run over 7 1-3 innings in Monday nights 7-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Kluber, who hasnt lost since June 30, held the Reds to six hits, struck out seven and walked two in winning his fifth straight decision. "I started out not so great with my command, but I was able to reel it in and had better command in the middle of the game," he said. The only bad news came in the eighth when Klubers 17-inning scoreless streak ended on Brayan Penas RBI double off reliever Nick Hagadone. That also ended the right-handers stretch of not allowing an earned run at 25 innings. Jay Bruce started the eighth with a single. After Todd Frazier struck out, Devin Mesoracos single ended Klubers night after 110 pitches. Francona pulled Kluber, who received a standing ovation from the 18,696 fans. The crowd groaned when Penas hit pushed a run across the plate. "Every starter wants to go deep into the game, but in that situation when it was still close, and my pitch count was up," Kluber said. "I understand." Lonnie Chisenhall hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Alfredo Simon (12-7). Yan Gomes hit a two-run homer in the eighth as Cleveland won its fourth straight. The series between the intrastate rivals features teams trying to remain in playoff contention. The win lifted the Indians (57-55) two games over .500 for the first time since July 22. The Reds are 5-12 since the All-Star break and fell to .500 (56-56). Kluber stopped Seattle on a three-hitter Wednesday and took a perfect game into the seventh inning against Kansas City on July 24 in his previous start, with the Royalls scoring an unearned run in the eighth.dddddddddddd Klubers only loss in his brilliant stretch came in a 1-0 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers. "You go through periods where you have things working and even when youre not at your best, youre still good," Francona said. "Thats kind of where Klubes is getting." Michael Brantley added an RBI groundout in the first inning and a run-scoring single in the fifth. John Axford pitched the final 1 2-3 innings for his 10th save. REDS IMPRESSED Cincinnati manager Bryan Price praised Klubers performance. "As advertised," Price said. "I know hes a tremendous pitcher, we all knew that coming in. He did the things that we knew about. Hes very good." TESTING Centre fielder Michael Bourn will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Double-A Akron on Tuesday. He hasnt played since July 5 because of a recurring left hamstring injury. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: Second baseman Brandon Phillips is travelling with the team as he continues to rehab from a torn ligament in his left thumb. Price said Phillips, who hasnt played since July 9, still cant swing a bat. Indians: Designated hitter Nick Swisher is optimistic his strained right wrist wont sideline him for more than a couple of days. "Ive been through stuff like this before," he said. "Its just a little tight." He injured the wrist in his last at-bat Sunday against Texas Yu Darvish. ON DECK Reds: All-Star right-hander Johnny Cueto (12-6) will start Tuesday. He leads the NL in innings pitched (162 2-3) and opponents batting average (.183) and is second in ERA (2.05) and strikeouts (186). Cueto is 3-0 in five career starts against Cleveland. Indians: Right-hander Josh Tomlin (5-7) will be called up from Triple-A Columbus to start Tuesday. He was sent to the minors on July 26. Tomlin hasnt won since pitching a one-hitter on June 28. Hes 1-1 in three career appearances against Cincinnati. Jerseys WholesaleWholesale NFL White JerseysStitched NFL JerseysJerseys From ChinaCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys OutletCheap NFL Autographed Jerseys ' ' '