Edmonton Oilers Issac Howard Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Pickard starts, Howard sits, and Lazar debuts as Oilers face Devils

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Zach Laing | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 3:15 PM ET

The Edmonton Oilers are going with Calvin Pickard between the pipes for Saturday’s matinee against the New Jersey Devils.

It wasn’t the only notable change in the Oilers’ lineup, as rookie forward Issac Howard will watch the game from the press box, allowing Curtis Lazar to make his team debut against his former club.

Lazar, 30, joined the Oilers on a one-year contract but hadn’t drawn into a game yet this year. He’ll do so against the team he spent the last two-and-a-bit seasons with, drawing in for 123 games, scoring nine goals and 30 points.

The Oilers mixed their lines up as a whole, bringing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the top line alongside Connor McDavid and Andrew Mangiapane, as Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen drew in on the flanks of Leon Draisaitl.

The third line featured Trent Frederic centring Matt Savoie and Jack Roslovic, as David Tomasek centred the fourth line with Adam Henrique and Curtis Lazar. The blue line remained the same from Thursday’s game against the Islanders.

The @EdmontonOilers pre-game skate:

RNH-McDavid-Mangiapane
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Savoie-Frederic-Roslovic
Henrique-Tomasek-Lazar

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson

Pickard

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) October 18, 2025

The game marks Pickard’s fourth start against the Devils in an Oilers uniform, posting a 2-1 record, a .897 save percentage and a 2.39 goals against average in his previous three.

For Howard, meanwhile, it marks his first scratch as an NHL’er. Earlier this week Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said the team is still evaluating their lineup, finding where each player fits.

“About half our forwards are new,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a new lineup, finding out who complements each other well.

“I don’t want to staple somebody in a spot. I think we have some young players that could move up in the lineup. I think with some opportunities, they can contribute more offensively. Right now, we’ve got Howard and Savoie playing special teams, but maybe over a period of time they can move up in the lineup and play more regular, even-strength minutes and we’ll see how things fit in.”

After Saturday’s game against the Devils, the Oilers will trek east to visit the Detroit Red Wings for a Sunday matinee. Puck drop for that game is set for 1:00 pm MT.

This article first appeared on Oilersnation and was syndicated with permission.

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