Since late November, the Edmonton Oilers have dominated the NHL, rising up the rankings and having a real chance to win the Western Conference’s home ice advantage. But this is a company that isn’t content to sit back and enjoy its success.
In an effort to bolster an already risky roster, there is still speculation that moves will be made before the trade deadline on March 7. This may entail improving the bottom six and possibly acquiring a defenseman who can team with a top four.
Finding a different goalie to help secure the position between the pipes—which is mostly because of a middling—is an additional option.As of Tuesday morning, the 901 team save percentage is 16th in the NHL. But we would argue that the Oilers shouldn’t prioritize this.
Although Stuart Skinner’s skill is apparent and he has generally improved after a bad start to the 2024–25 season, he is still too inconsistent to be a starting goalie. Calvin Pickard, on the other hand, performed well enough the previous season to receive a two-year extension, and he may be even better this season.
The success of Calvin Pickard is greater than some people realize.
In this regard, Pickard has outperformed Skinner thus far in 2024–25 in terms of goals against average, quality starts percentage, and winning percentage. We are not saying that he should become Edmonton’s new number one.
However, some critics still maintain that the Oilers should improve their goalkeeper position in order to get ready for the playoffs. Because Skinner was abroad for the birth of his second kid, Monday night gave Pickard a chance to demonstrate his abilities.
At least Pickard wasn’t caught in the dark about his goaltender teammate’s situation. According to Jamie Umbach, he stated:
“I was aware that he was almost done with school. Last night, I went to bed getting ready to play after receiving a text saying he was going to the hospital. It was pleasant and felt like a typical game day for the others.
Against a hot Seattle Kraken side, the 32-year-old conceded a goal less than four minutes into the match, admitting that things did not start out well for him. The Oilers fell behind 2-1 at the end of the first period after he gave up two goals on 12 shots.
It is activated for the Oilers by Calvin Pickard.
But Pickard was excellent in goal after that, preventing any more goals for the rest of the match. The Oilers won 4-2 when you add three points from Mattias Ekholm, Corey Perry, and that guy Connor McDavid.
Despite the early disadvantage, Pickard was aware of his teammates’ potential and did not take anything for granted. He stated:
“Our team is explosive. I believe that after the first game in many of the games I’ve played this year, we’re down, but we don’t give up. We anticipate returning in games. It’s annoying that after the first, it’s 2:1 since we play best when we’re down. It was right there for us, but it’s not the beginning you’re searching for. We scored a huge goal in the beginning of the second, took the lead, and didn’t turn around.”
Naturally, if Pickard hadn’t improved throughout the last forty minutes, especially in the second period, none of this would have mattered. He made a number of important stops in the middle frame, notably saving Evan Bouchard, who continues to make needless and frequently expensive errors.
Bouchard’s mistake actually led to a breakaway from Perry, who scored to give the Oilers their first lead of the evening at 3-2, and Pickard ended up making a double save. Most of the well-earned headlines went to the goalkeeper, but the game stayed close until Janmark scored his empty-netter in the last minute.
An outstanding performance
Pickard won First Star of the Game after saving 24 of the 26 shots he faced overall. He has now won four consecutive starts, eight of the last nine, and 13 victories overall, two fewer than his career high from 2016–17.
Speaking to the media after the game, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch was sure to give his goalie the respect he deserves. According to Umbach as well, he stated:
“We took the lead in the second period, and Picks made some incredible saves to keep us in it.” After he made a few crucial saves, we quickly went down and scored. We just performed well enough to win tonight, I believe.
The Oilers’ victory puts them within four points of the Winnipeg Jets at the top of the Western Conference and puts them back in first place in the Pacific Division. Pickard shouldn’t be a team issue based on Monday night’s performance, but they still have a lot of work to do to reach their desired level.
