Oilers’ Calvin Pickard to start Game 3 against Kings

The Edmonton Oilers are making a change in the blue paint ahead of Game 3 of their opening-round series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs versus the Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Kings.

After dropping the first two games of the series, the Oilers have elected to start backup goaltender Calvin Pickard for Game 3 on Friday in Edmonton, per team reporter Tony Brar.

The change comes after Oilers starter Stuart Skinner surrendered 11 goals through the first two games, resulting in 6-5 and 6-2 losses. In Game 2, Skinner was pulled midway through the final frame after allowing five goals on 28 shots. Pickard then turned aside two of three shots for the remainder of the contest.

Through 51 regular-season appearances in 2024-25, Skinner posted a 26-18-4 record coupled with an .896 save percentage, 2.81 goals-against average, and three shutouts. Originally chosen by the Oilers in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, the 26-year-old Edmonton native has since appeared in part of five seasons with the club in which he has established a 98-56-14 career record with a .905 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average, and seven shutouts.

En route to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Florida Panthers in a seven-game set, last spring saw Skinner put together a 14-9 record alongside a .901 save percentage, 2.45 goals-against average, and one shutout.

For Pickard, the 33-year-old native of Moncton, N.B., steps into the crease following 36 regular-season showings in which he went 22-10-1 with a .900 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average. Pickard also saw three appearances last spring in which he went 1-1 with a .915 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average.

Per PuckPedia, both Skinner and Pickard are under contract through 2025-26, with Skinner carrying a $2.6-million cap hit and Pickard coming in at $1 million.