Calvin Pickard is exactly what the Oilers needed

The Edmonton Oilers earned a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday night, giving them a 3-2 series lead after losing the first two games of the first-round matchup.

A big reason for the Oilers’ turnaround was goaltender Calvin Pickard replacing Stuart Skinner after the latter allowed 11 goals in the first two games of this series. In Pickard’s three starts, he’s gone 3-0 with a .908 save percentage (SV%), including a 21-save performance in Edmonton’s 3-1 win Tuesday.

The Oilers now have a chance to eliminate the Kings in front of a home crowd in Game 6 on Thursday, and it’s also a chance for the 33-year-old Pickard to take the starting job and run with it.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk are joined by former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton to discuss Pickard’s performance in the series and his value to Edmonton.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Pickard is not flashy, he’s a career journeymen, and I categorize him as a low-ceiling, high-floor goalie if that makes sense. Is there a chance that’s just exactly what this Oilers team needs?

Carter Hutton: I think they just need someone that’s steady, right? You look at those numbers with a .908 SV%, and that’s kind of what they needed. Nothing against Stuart Skinner, but he’s been bad, and I think think this is the end of this run. I think we see Skinner at some point, I think he gets back into it.

As for Pickard, he’s come in and been that stop gap for them. For Pickard, this is an awesome story. For him to fight back and come in a pressure situation, this is where it shows you have to have experience.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…