Another starting goaltender, another win

There's something to be said for sound defensive hockey. It's not always must-see-tv, although with Connor McDavid around you usually get a moment or two worth watching, but playing the right way has a tendency to lead to victories. That was the case on Sunday evening when the Edmonton Oilers squared off against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Gardens.

The past two games, the oft-maligned Tristan Jarry had put together a 120 minutes of shut out hockey. With the Oilers playing theier second game in 27 hours, it was only natural that Jarry be given the evening off. With both Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi on injured reserve, that meant Sunday would be fourth string goalie Matt Tomkins' first start in Oilers colors. Tomkins had played six previous National Hockey League games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, compiling a 3-2-1 record and a 0.892 save percentage.

Rising to the moment

When a coach, general manager, or even a random hockey fan looks at their team's schedule, there are games, or stretches of games which you'd call a specific outing a scheduled loss. The second game of a back-to-back. A difficult matchup after a series of games against lottery teams, a game where injury reports make it clear that your lineup isn't going to be able to deliver its best.

The Rangers game could have been excused in a couple of those ways. But following McDavid's hot start, and based off the strong net play of Tomkins, the Oilers made it look relatively easy. Tomkins stopped 27 or 28 shots, posting a 0.964 save percentage. That included stopping 8 of 9 high danger chances. Tomkins also successfully defended two power plays against, with the help of the team's penalty killers, who've looked better and better as the season progresses.

We aren't likely to see Tomkins much this season once the rest of the goaltending corps gets healthy. He's comfortably behind Jarry, Andersen, and Levi in terms of pedigree and past performance. But it is encouraging to know that, should the injury bug buzz through the team's goalies again later on in 2026-27, the Bakersfield Condors call up isn't going to be overwhelmed by the moment.

The Oilers round out a road trip you'd already call a success on Tuesday evening at 5:30PM Alberta time. They'll face the New Jersey Devils and their new starting netminder, Connor Hellebuyck.