Oilers stick with Calvin Pickard for Game 5 vs. Canucks

Calvin Pickard will lead the Edmonton Oilers onto the ice for Game 5 against the Vancouver Canucks.

Pickard was in the starter’s net during the team’s morning skate

The Oilers pulled out a 3-2 win in Game 4 to even up the series at 2-2. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch decided to make a change in goal going with Pickard between the pipes over starter Stuart Skinner.

It was Pickard’s first career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He made 19 saves in the winning effort.

“(Pickard) looked like a guy who had played 100 playoff games,” Knoblauch said Tuesday night. “Composed, really solid, seeing the puck really well.”

Skinner was pulled in favour of Pickard after allowing four goals on 15 shots in Edmonton’s Game 3 loss on Sunday.

The 25-year-old has given up 12 goals in three games this series, with a .793 save percentage and just one win.

Edmonton brought in Pickard as a free agent in July 2022 but he spent most of the time in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors. He would get promoted to the backup role in November after Jack Campbell struggled to start the season.

Pickard started 20 games in the regular season for the Oilers, boasting a 12-7-1 record, with a 2.45 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.

Skinner, on the other hand, had a 36-16-5 record on the year with a 2.62 GAA and .905 save percentage in the regular season.

– With files from the Canadian Press.