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Oilers Offer Major Injury Update on Calvin Pickard For Stars Series

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated May 21, 2025 4:56 PM ET

The Edmonton Oilers will be taking on the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row. The Oilers took down the Stars last year in six games, and will try to make it happen again.

The Oilers have been on a roll of late, entering this series, winning eight of their previous nine games. Edmonton has looked like a machine on both sides of the ice, giving them a lot of confidence going up against Dallas.

But heading into Game 1, the Oilers got more of an update on goalie Calvin Pickard. Pickard was not with Edmonton on the trip to Dallas, signaling his status for the first few games of the series.

The goalie has been out since suffering an injury in Game 2 of the team's second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Veteran Stuart Skinner has taken over in relief and put together his two best games in the Vegas series.

Skinner held the Golden Knights scoreless in the final two games of the series, giving his teammates a lot of confidence heading into the conference final. But Skinner has also had some issues this postseason already, being pulled after Game 2 in the first round.

But with Pickard likely on the shelf for now, the fate of the Oilers will be given to Skinner in the net. The Oilers will need their defenders to help Skinner out to avoid any issues against a strong offensive team like the Stars.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch previously said that Pickard could return sometime during the series, but didn't specify when.

“Probably not when the series starts, but I would think probably sometime in the same timeline as Ekholm, sometime during the series,” Knoblauch said. “Certainly not Game 1, but sometime in the middle.”

Game 1 between the two teams is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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