Edmonton Oilers starting goalie decision appears locked in for Game 5
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers Raw
The Edmonton Oilers are currently undefeated in this year's playoffs with Calvin Pickard in net, and he's expected to get another start for Game 5 in Los Angeles.
Skinner was pulled in Game 2 after allowing 5 goals and clearly allowing the Kings' crowd to get to him. Now, it appears he's lost his grip on the starter's role for the Oilers.
Oilers starting goalie decision for Game 5 appears locked in as Calvin Pickard
According to Oilers analyst Allan Mitchell, the team is most likely to start Pickard again in Game 5.
Calvin Pickard won both games on the weekend, and last night played fantastic hockey during the period Edmonton needed him to rock steady until they could get to even. I see no reason to replace him in the starter's net
- Allan Mitchell
- Allan Mitchell
Pickard had a rocky start to begin Game 4, but like he has all season, locked in to shut the door when the Oilers needed it the most. Pickard was lights out in the third period and overtime, allowing the Oilers to complete a critical comeback win.
The Oilers backup put up a .927 save percentage, and while that metric is far from a be-all-end-all measure of goaltending, it's a rarity for the Oilers to be above .900. In Skinner's 2 games, he has an atrocious .810.
As of now, it's Pickard's net to lose. He's consistently finding way to make the extra save that Skinner has failed to find, evidenced by Knoblauch's recent comments.
With Calvin, look at his win loss record since January 1st. He finds ways to win hockey games. Whether we feel better and play better in front of him, or he just comes up with big saves at key times - whatever it is, that win loss record is pretty flattering for him.
- Coach Knoblauch
- Coach Knoblauch
On the other hand, it looks like Skinner has officially lost the trust of the organization as their starting goaltender after two years of total inconsistency.
The Oilers will now surely be looking for a goalie in the offseason, but if Pickard keeps up this play, it may not be him that will be leaving the team.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 28 | 853 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers starting goalie decision appears locked in for Game 5 Do you think Stuart Skinner will be on the Edmonton Oilers next year? | ||
| Yes | 170 | 19.9 % |
| No | 683 | 80.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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