Who starts Game 5? Oilers quiet about goaltending decision as Stanley Cup Final shifts to Edmonton

The Edmonton Oilers have fourteen wins in the playoffs: Seven of them from Stuart Skinner, seven from Calvin Pickard.

Which goalie will be relied upon to lead the team to the last two wins needed to defeat the Florida Panthers and capture the Stanley Cup?

Will it be Pickard, who improved his record to 7-0 in the playoffs with Edmonton’s comeback victory on Thursday? Or will the Oilers go back to Skinner? It looks like we won’t find out until closer to game time.

“No, I’m not going to name one yet,” Knoblauch said when asked about whether he had decided on a starter for Game 5 in Edmonton on Saturday.

Skinner started the first two games of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings and was pulled in favour of Pickard after two losses. The Oilers won four games in a row with Pickard in net to eliminate the Kings, and then he led Edmonton to two road wins against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

Pickard’s six-game winning streak was unfortunately derailed by an injury. Skinner returned to the net in the middle of the Vegas series and Olivier Rodrigue took the backup position on Edmonton’s bench. With Pickard on the shelf, Skinner posted a .944 save percentage over three starts as the Oilers took down the Golden Knights in five games.

Skinner was excellent for the Oilers in the team’s Western Conference Final victory against the Dallas Stars, putting up a .924 save percentage in five games. That play hasn’t translated to the Stanley Cup Final, though. Skinner has allowed 16 goals in four games against the Panthers and has been yanked twice.

“Both goalies have been really good and key to us getting here,” Knoblauch said. “Stu, since Picks’ injury, came in and played some really good games in the Vegas series and Dallas series. Last night in the first period, we weren’t at our best, and that puts the goalie in a vulnerable position. We made the switch and Picks came in and made some huge, huge saves.”

The Oilers didn’t make life easy for Skinner in what felt like a must-win Game 4. The team allowed 17 shots on goal in the first period and they took three penalties, all of them stick infractions.

Matthew Tkachuk scored two power-play goals to give the Panthers an early lead and Anton Lundell made it 3-0 late in the first period following a turnover deep in Edmonton’s zone. It’s difficult to blame Skinner for any of the goals, but the Oilers had to make a change.

“It’s a difficult decision because ultimately you’re saying that you’re putting the blame on one guy. That’s not fair, because no one else is getting pulled from the game,” Knoblauch said. “But we felt that we needed to change something. Obviously it worked last night, but it doesn’t always work. We need to play better in front of whoever is in net. In the second period and overtime, we played much better than we did in the first.”

How the team plays in front of either goaltender will be part of the decision for the coaching staff ahead of Game 5. Skinner is the goalie with more playoff experience and he has a history of strong performances for the Oilers late in a series. Pickard has given the team an emotional boost multiple times during the playoffs and continues to lead the team to wins.

Maybe it’s time to give the net back to Pickard. Maybe the winning formula is having him come off the bench. We’ll see what the Oilers decide on Saturday.