Scenes From Morning Skate: Are you panicking yet?

One week removed from trading Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick for Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin, the Edmonton Oilers placed their new goalie on injured reserve Friday.

Three games. That’s all Jarry lasted before sustaining a lower-body injury in the second period of Thursday’s 3-1 win over Boston. He made 12 saves before pushing across the crease awkwardly and coming up slowly. Calvin Pickard replaced him and finished the game.

“Right away, when he made that push across, it didn’t look good,” Pickard said afterward. “So I figured I’d be going in there.”

Jarry returned to Edmonton for further evaluation Friday. The Oilers recalled Connor Ingram from the Bakersfield Condors in a corresponding move. Jack Roslovic was placed on long-term injured reserve to make room.

So now Edmonton’s goalie tandem for the foreseeable future is Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram. Not terrible goalies. Not the most inspiring tandem in the NHL either.

Pickard is a capable backup who has played 187 career NHL games over parts of nine seasons with a .901 save percentage. Ingram has 102 career games split between Nashville, Arizona, and Utah with a .902 save percentage and a 2023-24 Masterton Trophy to his name for perseverance and dedication. Both have shown they can play at this level.

But neither is the solution Edmonton thought they were getting when they acquired Jarry last Friday.

And of course, Saturday’s opponent is Minnesota. The same Minnesota Wild that made a blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes on the same day Edmonton traded for Jarry. Hughes has two points in three games with the Wild, who have won six straight and sit at 21-9-5.

Edmonton improved to 17-12-6 after Thursday’s win over Boston and has gone 6-1-1 over their last eight games. They finally found momentum after struggling through November. Their power play is registering at 31.9 percent—second in the NHL. Everything seemed to be coming together.

Then Jarry went down 1:30 into the second period against the Bruins.

It’s one week since the trade. Jarry is 3-0 as an Oiler with solid goaltending in all three games before the injury. The team scored 16 goals in those three wins. The offence has been rolling. But now they’re facing Minnesota—a team playing excellent hockey with their new superstar defenseman—while relying on Pickard and Ingram.

Is it time to panic? Probably not. Pickard has been fine as a backup all season. Ingram deserves a chance to see how far he’s come. The Oilers have shown they can score goals regardless of who’s in net.

But it’s hard not to feel the universe conspiring against Edmonton’s goaltending situation. They traded away Skinner to fix their problems in net. Jarry won his first three starts. Then he lasted exactly 21:30 into his fourth game before going down with an injury.

Minnesota’s riding a six-game winning streak with Quinn Hughes on their blue line. Edmonton counters with Calvin Pickard, who made 11 saves on Thursday, and Connor Ingram, who has a 4.04 GAA and .856 save percentage in 11 AHL games this season.

Time to panic? Not yet. But maybe after today’s afternoon game.

Lines and Pairings

RNH – McDavid – Hyam

Podkolzi –  Draisaitl – Savoie

Mangiapane – Henrique – Janmark

Jones – Frederic – Hutson

Ekholm – Bouchard

Nurse – Stastney

Stillman – Embersson

Pickard