Oilers analyst addresses reason why Pickard's stats appear better than Skinner

Some fans would want to see the Oilers give the 33 year old career backup more starts than Skinner, and it's clear the locker room has a deep appreciation for Pickard.

It may be tough for the Oilers to move on from the veteran backup for an upgrade in trade, but it still is probably the team's best path forward this year.

Pickard played 36 games for the Oilers last season, and posted a decent .900 save percentage. In fact, it was better than Skinner's year who struggled with consistency and posted a disappointing .896 save percentage.

But the Oilers backup had a major advantage over Skinner that may be holding him back from earning more starts. Pickard played most of his games against non-playoff teams, and struggled against the playoff teams he did face.

Pickard faces weaker teams than Skinner most times he plays, and it's simply beneficial to the stats of the Oilers backup.

Obviously goalies would fare better against worse competition, and the same discrepancy exists for Skinner. However, he had an even lower save percentage than Pickard against playoff teams.

Per the most recent rankings, the Oilers have the worst goaltending by any playoff team by far.

It's a clear position of weakness heading into this year, and if the Oilers are serious about doing everything in a must-win season, they'll acquire an upgrade in net.

We'll see if the Oilers move past this year's trade deadline with a new goalie tandem, or they'll roll the same dice in a critical season.