It looks like Calvin Pickard will be the starting goalie for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night in Game 4. Down 2-1 in their series, this isn’t a must-win, but it’s as close as the Oilers will get before every loss could mean elimination. Pickard has never started an NHL playoff game, but head coach Kris Knoblauch seems to have seen enough during the regular season that he feels comfortable with the change.
Is Going to Pickard the Right Call?
Some might argue this is a desperate move. Skinner has rebounded after poor performances (most recently in Game 3 versus the Los Angeles Kings). By pulling the plug on him now, what does that tell the netminder when it comes to how much confidence the team has in him?
Others will argue that Skinner has a track record of losing himself in the playoffs. He struggled last season against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Oilers went to Jack Campbell. Each time they went back to Skinner, it didn’t pan out. Perhaps this is the right call and Pickard deserves an opportunity.
Pickard has played well in the regular season and he’s proven that he can come in cold, having sat for long stretches. The Oilers play well in front of him and maybe that’s what this team needs right now — a reason to play better and more solid team hockey. If it takes a goalie change to wake the Oilers up, especially on defense, so be it.
What Else Can, and Should the Oilers Change?
While the Oilers are changing things up and looking for a spark, it might be time to make a couple of other changes. Splitting Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl might be the most obvious. Knoblauch has stacked his top line, which has made them potent, but the move has also left holes on the rest of the roster. The bottom six is providing little to nothing and the second line hasn’t generated much.
Related: NHL Rumors: Avalanche, Oilers, Maple Leafs
It hasn’t helped that Adam Henrique has been out, but that’s not a good enough excuse to explain the lack of production from players like Evander Kane, Corey Perry, Ryan McLeod, and others. Edmonton needs these players to step up and one way to do that is to give them an elite player to play with. Dividing and conquering has worked well in the past. The split would also allow the Oilers to better manage the minutes for McDavid and Draisaitl, which is currently out of control.
Edmonton may want to consider swapping out some pieces on the bottom six, maybe even bringing in Philip Broberg over someone like Cody Ceci. Adding someone like Sam Carrick to bring a more physical element to the lineup would make sense, seeing as the Oilers have been beaten and bruised by a Canucks team that is chasing the big hits.
This Is the Last Game the Oilers Can Experiment
If Edmonton is going to “try stuff”, this is the game to do it. Losing Game 4 would put Edmonton in a huge hole, but it wouldn’t mean the end of their season. Going down 3-1 creates a massive mountain to climb, but it isn’t insurmountable. It only means there can be no testing things without a loss kicking the Oilers out of the playoffs.
This is the one game the Oilers could try Pickard as the starter and hope the change motivates everyone. It is the one game that the Oilers can afford to be wrong. Fans are just hoping they aren’t and that a change in goal and some possible lineup shuffling is enough to make this series a best-of-three.