Pickard’s poised play gives Edmonton Oilers confidence in 1st-round series

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard, right stops a shot as Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore watches during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES — Twelve seasons into his NHL tenure, Calvin Pickard is playing some of the biggest games of his career.

The 33-year-old Edmonton Oilers goalie started the playoffs on the bench, backing up starter Stuart Skinner. But when Edmonton stumbled through two losses to open their best-of-seven series against the L.A. Kings, Pickard was elevated to the No. 1 job.

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He went on to backstop the Oilers to three straight wins, including a 3-1 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday.

“It feels good getting your name called early,” said Pickard, who stopped 21 shots as Edmonton improved to 3-2 in the first-round matchup.

“I just want to go out and do my job. I’ve been saying it all year. And playing behind our team, it’s a blessing for me. And I just want to keep continuing to do what I can do to help the team win.”

Pickard now has a 3-0 record with a .904 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average this post-season.

The six-foot-one, 206-pound netminder from Moncton, N.B., also made 36 regular-season appearances, posting a 22-10-1 record with a .900 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.

It was the most games he had played since the 2016-17 campaign when Pickard was a member of the Colorado Avalanche, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft.

“He’s played a lot of hockey this year. We’ve played well in front of him,” said Edmonton winger Zach Hyman. “Picks is making every save he needs to make. As a player, that gives you confidence that if you go out and do your job, everything is going to work out.”

Skinner, 26, was the Oilers’ starter for much of the regular season and put up a 26-18-4 record with a .896 save percentage, a 2.81 goals-against average and three shutouts.

He struggled early in the playoffs, though, giving up 11 goals on 58 shots across the first two games.

This is the second year in a row Pickard has assumed the starter’s net midway through a post-season series.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch replaced Skinner with Knoblauch for two games during Edmonton’s second-round matchup against the Vancouver Canucks last year, and Edmonton went on to win in seven games.

The Oilers returned to Skinner later in the second round and stuck with him as they powered through to the Stanley Cup final, ultimately losing to the Florida Panthers in a seven-game set.

“I just think we’ve been fortunate. We have two good goalies, we feel confident in either one,” Knoblauch said. “And we can put either one in the net and feel like we can win that night.”

For Pickard, the difference this year is timing.

Instead of going through the entire first round as the backup, the veteran netminder was pressed into action just nine days after his last regular-season game.

“Towards the end of the regular season, I got a decent amount of games to feel ready. Last year, I was off for quite a while before I stepped in against Vancouver,” he said. ”But I felt ready to go for Game 3.

“I know I’ve just got to go out and do my job, and we’ve been playing well since I’ve been in there. It’s been good.”

Knoblauch has long said the Oilers will need both goalies for a long playoff run, and Pickard’s mindset means he’s always eager to play.

“He’s a gamer. He’s ready. He likes the pressure,” the coach said. “And a lot of credit to him because there’s been long stretches where he has not played and we’ve put him in the net and said ‘We need a big game from you.’”

The Oilers will have a chance to close out the series Thursday when they host the Kings for Game 6.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press