The Edmonton Oilers have made an interesting lineup change as they seek their first four-game win streak of the season tonight.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been red-hot for the Oilers of late, posting a 4-1-0 record over his last five games and recording a .946 SV% over that span. He is coming off an impressive 21-save performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
He’s looked every bit like the starting goaltender that Oilers fans expected at the start of the season, yet he won’t be getting the call between the pipes against the Minnesota Wild tonight. Instead, it will be backup goalie Calvin Pickard.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed the move this morning.
“Same lineup, Calvin is our starting goalie,” Knoblauch said.
This will be the second time all season that Pickard has gotten the start against a bonafide playoff team.
He let in 3 goals on 16 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Devils last month.
Tonight will be a good chance for him to show what he’s got against a GREAT Wild club. #Oilers
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) December 12, 2024
Pickard has not been bad with the Oilers this season, sporting a 6-3-0 record and a .892 SV% this season. The curious part about giving Pickard the start tonight is that this will only be the second time all season that he has been in the starter’s net against a bonafide playoff team.
The only other time that has happened was against the New Jersey Devils last month and that turned into a 3-0 loss where Pickard had a .813 SV% on just 16 shots. He also got some time against the Winnipeg Jets in the season-opener, playing in relief of Skinner, where he let in one goal on seven shots.
Add this to the fact that the Oilers have had a historically hard time beating the Wild over the past several seasons, and it’s a concerning trend.
It’s not a large sample size, but it’s telling that the Oilers have limited Pickard’s time playing against playoff teams early in the season. Starting Skinner would have been the easy call, but with an upcoming schedule that includes the Vegas Golden Knights and defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, it’s hard to argue that either one of those teams would be a better matchup for Pickard.
Goaltending has been on fire for the Oilers lately, and it’ll be up to Pickard to instill more faith in him as a backup if he can find a way to put in a good performance against a stellar Minnesota team.