Forgotten Avalanche draft-pick just became the most pivotal player in the Stanley Cup Final
Photo credit: Yahoo Sports
After stepping in with two strong periods and most of an overtime in Thursday's wild 5-4 Oilers win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, Calvin Pickard is now set to take over as Edmonton's starting goalie.
A this point, there's simply not enough time to recover from any setback that might push Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch to turn back to Stuart Skinner.
Former Avalanche draft-pick Calvin Pickard just changed the Stanley Cup Final.
Barry Petchesky from Defector.com writes that Pickard now boasts a perfect 7-0 record in this postseason, an unusual stat line for someone who began Game 4 on the bench. After replaing Skinner during the first round and rattling off six straight wins, a lower-body injury forced him to relinquish the starting role.
Skinner was replaced by Pickard to start the second period after he allowed three goals on 17 shots in the first period.
"Pickard is an unlikely guy to emerge as the most pivotal player in this Final. He's not some untested kid, and yet not a veteran with a ton of miles on him either. 'Career backup' is an overly generous way to describe him. He's on his sixth team, and from 2017 to 2023 started just 16 total games in the NHL." -Petchesky
The starting job was Skinner's to lose, and for the second time this postseason, he has. After a winding journey, the crease now belongs to Pickard for the rest of the Oilers' season. With everything on the line, it's Cup or bust.
"On Thursday, Pickard became the sixth goaltender to win a Final game in relief, a club whose exclusivity is self-explanatory: Usually if things are bad enough to have to go to the backup, they're bad enough that you don't come back. But these Oilers have a knack for comebacks-their fans' blood pressure levels might call it a curse-and their never-say-die skaters require just some basic steadiness in their backstop to do their thing." -Petchesky
Pickard was drafted in the second-round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010. He spent three season in Denver before being claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Pickard's 22 saves delivered exactly that last night, and now, there's hope he can provide more of the same in the final two or three games of the season. Still, betting on things going smoothly for the team feels like a long shot; nothing ever seems to come easy for the Edmonton Oilers.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 13 | 26 ANSWERS Forgotten Avalanche draft-pick just became the most pivotal player in the Stanley Cup Final Do you think Calvin Pickard becomes Edmonton's starting goalie for next season? | ||
| yes | 14 | 53.8 % |
| no | 12 | 46.2 % |
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