The Edmonton Oilers will be without Stuart Skinner for a couple of days. Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that he is flying home to be with his expecting wife. In his place, the team recalled Calvin Pickard from the minor leagues under emergency conditions. Given the team was already at the maximum of 23 players, it will likely move Skinner to non-roster status while he is away.
Pickard, 30, is the definition of a journeyman goaltender. Starting his career with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, he then played for the Colorado Avalanche, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto Marlies, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes, Tucson Roadrunners, Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit Red Wings and Vienna in the Austrian league before joining the Bakersfield Condors this season.
The veteran netminder has posted a .909 save percentage in 10 appearances for Bakersfield this season and will likely just serve as backup while Skinner is away.
That means Jack Campbell will get the start as he continues to try and get his season back on track. After signing a five-year, $25M contract in the offseason, Campbell (who turned 31 Monday) has an .877 save percentage in 19 appearances, allowing at least three goals in 13 of them. The Oilers, who are struggling to even stay above .500 these days, face the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday before back-to-back games against the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights starting on Friday.
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