EDMONTON -- Calvin Pickard will start for the Edmonton Oilers against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Friday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, TVAS2, TNT, truTV, MAX, FDSNW).
Pickard replaces goalie Stuart Skinner, who started the first two games of the best-of-7 series with a 6.11 goals-against average and .810 save percentage (11 goals on 58 shots).
The Oilers are trying to avoid falling behind 3-0 in the series after losing 6-5 in Game 1 and 6-2 in Game 2.
“I’ll approach it the same way I’ve approached every game as an Oiler, go out and do my job and give our team a chance to win.” Pickard said after the morning skate Friday. “Obviously, the first two games didn’t go as planned in a lot of facets, but we know we have a better effort in this locker room and we know we’re going to get it tonight.”
Pickard is 1-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .903 save percentage in four playoff games (two starts) for Edmonton during the past two seasons. He replaced Skinner at 10:30 of the third period in Game 2 against the Kings on Wednesday and allowed one goal on three shots.
Pickard was 22-10-1 with a 2.71 GAA and .900 save percentage in 36 games (31 starts) during the regular season. The 33-year-old started eight of the final 11 games of the regular season after Skinner sustained a head injury during a 5-4 win against the Dallas Stars on March 8.
“He’s played well all year, he’s been solid for us, coming in in big moments,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “He did it last year in the playoffs as well. He’s obviously a guy we have a lot of faith in and I expect him to play well again tonight.”
Pickard started Games 4 and 5 against the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Second Round during the playoffs last year. He made 19 saves in a 3-2 win in Game 4 to tie the best-of-7 series 2-2, and 32 saves in a 3-2 loss in Game 5.
Skinner returned for the last two games of the series against Vancouver, which Edmonton won to advance to the Western Conference Final. Skinner is 19-17 with a 3.00 GAA, .889 save percentage and one shutout in 37 playoff starts during the past three seasons.
“Calvin’s come in and played some really good games for us, dating back to last year, not playing for a while and coming into the Vancouver series [last year] and playing really well,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “This year, you look at his record, especially since Jan. 1, how many games he’s won, and we felt that we’re in a position where we need to win a game and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Los Angeles outshot Edmonton 31-26 in Game 2 and scored three power-play goals. The Kings are 5-for-10 on the power play through the first two games of the series.
Regardless of who is in net, Knoblauch said the Oilers need to be better defensively if they are going to get back in the series.
“I believe our team would treat it as the same whether [Skinner] is in net or [Pickard],” Knoblauch said. “There should be a lot of desperation no matter who our goaltender is.
"I think we just need a big performance, some big saves at key times, and obviously being down 2-0 isn’t only on our goaltender, it’s on the team. I don’t think our mentality changes, whoever’s starting tonight.”
