A new report is suggesting that the Edmonton Oilers will turn to backup goaltender Calvin Pickard for Game 4 of their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.
This surprising development comes after Oilers starting goaltender Stuart Skinner was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots in the first two periods of Game 3 on Sunday night. Pickard came on in relief for the final 20 minutes and turned away all three shots he faced.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report on the goaltender change.
Sources: #Oilers plan to start Cal Pickard against #Canucks in Game 4 on Tuesday night.#LetsGoOilers look to even up the series with Pickard backstopping them in what would be his first career Stanley Cup playoff start.
Story: https://t.co/3ZfWDu4I6U pic.twitter.com/7vAQSZSTRw
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 14, 2024
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has not officially confirmed anything, but he is expected to announce his starting goaltender when the team takes to the ice for morning skate at 10:30 am MT today.
Pickard has never started a game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so this would be his postseason debut. His first appearance in the playoffs on Sunday night came with a light workload as the Oilers dominated the bulk of the play and limited the Canucks to just three shots on goal.
If this report winds up to be true, neither the Oilers nor Canucks will have their usual starting goaltenders between the pipes. Vancouver has been running with third-string Arturs Silovs throughout the entire series up to this point after injuries to starter Thatcher Demko and backup Casey DeSmith. The results have been mixed, but the Latvian rookie came up big for the Canucks in Game 3, stopping 42 of the 45 shots he faced.
Pickard had a 12-7-1 record over 23 regular season games this year and posted a .909 save percentage.
Puck drop for tonight’s game is set for 7:30 pm MT/6:30 pm PT.