DETROIT -- The Edmonton Oilers did not complicate things.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' power-play goal late in the second period broke a tie and Edmonton defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.

It was the Oilers' second win in less than 24 hours and the Red Wings' fifth straight loss (0-4-1).

The Oilers beat the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout Saturday night on the road and lost two regular forwards Jesse Puljujarvi (charley horse) and Zack Kassian (lower body) to injuries. Neither played Sunday.

"(It was tough) especially playing back-to-back. It was 20 hours or so between games," said goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who made 22 saves. "Some young guys coming up and stepping in.

"We didn't do too much and we kept it simple."

Gustavsson is a former Red Wings player.

Tyler Pitlick also scored for Edmonton (9-3-1).

Justin Abdelkader scored for Detroit (6-6-1), which lost its third consecutive home game to a team that had played on the road the previous day. Jimmy Howard made 26 saves.

"I thought we did a lot of things well, but we're still not getting the right results. It was a lot better than Friday (5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets), but not good enough," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.

"We have to get more bodies to the front of the net and we have to get more pucks to the net. We're just not doing that. We're talking about tiny, tiny margins that are keeping us from winning."

Nugent-Hopkins' power-play goal gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead with 20 seconds left in the second period.

He beat Howard with a snap shot under the crossbar from the inside of the left circle after taking a cross-slot pass from captain Connor McDavid on a give-and-go type play.

"That was the play that I saw and fortunately, it worked out," McDavid said.

Edmonton coach Todd McLellan expanded on the play by McDavid.

"On a night where the team was more important than the individual and Connor was a little bit quiet, he still found a way to have an impact on maybe the most important play of the game," McLellan said. "His patience and his vision, a lot of guys would've shot that puck. He had enough patient to find Nugent for a wide-open goal."

It was Nugent-Hopkins' second goal of the season.

The goal came only eight seconds after defenseman Mike Green went off for hooking. It was Edmonton's second power-play in the last three minutes of the period.

The Oilers then shut things down in the third period, limiting Detroit to four shots in the final 20 minutes.

"We played real well, especially in the third,"" Gustavsson said. "We didn't open up and kept it real simple and didn't give them a lot of chances to tie it up. We played a real mature period."

Red Wings forward Riley Sheahan hit the crossbar 8:19 into the middle period.

"We have to get some ugly goals and get a win," Howard said. "We need to throw shots at the net, forecheck and try to get something ugly."

Abdelkader's power-play goal gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 8:53 into the game. He put the rebound of Brendan Smith's shot into an empty net for Abdelkader's third goal.

Pitlick tied it 1-1 for Edmonton with 3:21 left in the first period. He picked up a wide shot by Milan Lucic behind the net and stuffed the puck past Howard on a wraparound to Howard's right. It was Pitlick's fourth goal.

Howard made a big save on Patrick Maron's one-timer from about five feet outside the crease seconds after Abdelkader's goal.

Gustavsson made a spectacular pad save on Steve Ott's one-time shot from the bottom of the left circle with 9:15 remaining in the opening period.

NOTES: Edmonton RWs Jesse Puljujarvi (charley horse) and Zack Kassian (lower body) did not play after leaving Saturday night's 4-3 overtime road win over the New York Islanders in the first period. ... Detroit LW Thomas Vanek missed his sixth game with a hip injury. ... Oilers coach Todd McLellan is a former assistant coach with the Red Wings. ... Both backup goalies started for their teams, Jonas Gustavsson for Edmonton and Jimmy Howard for Detroit. Gustavsson is a former Red Wing (2012-2015). ... The Oilers recalled F Taylor Beck from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield after recalling D Dillon Simpson from the same team on Saturday.