Why the Oilers should start Calvin Pickard in Game 4
There’s a lot of speculation on what Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch might do regarding his goaltending situation in the lead-up to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The reason for the topic of discussion comes days after the Oilers were lit up 6-1 by the Florida Panthers on Monday night. Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner was yanked after allowing five goals in Game 3, making way for Pickard, who allowed a goal on eight shots.
That has led to many wondering what the Oilers will do for a pivotal game in Sunrise. Skinner has taking the reins back from Pickard since the second round, winning six of eight games to get Edmonton to the Cup Final. However, Pickard did go 6-0 after Skinner lost the first two games of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Kings.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk explain why Pickard should get the start over Skinner on Thursday night.
Frank Seravalli: I think this is their only opportunity to make a change if they want to. If you lose game four and you go back to Edmonton 3-1, you’re not putting Cal Pickard in for an elimination game with Florida’s chance to win the Cup. I think we’ve seen it proven time and time again that Stuart Skinner finds the reset to be valuable. I thought he was over-amped, over-hyped, out of position in Game 3 in Florida. It’s demonstrable how much more calm Cal Pickard is, plus how much more calm the Oilers play in front of Cal Pickard.
This isn’t a panic move. It’s just that I think those two changes put the Edmonton Oilers in the best position to succeed for Game 4 and get back to level ground. Then, if you want to, depending on how the game goes, go back to Skinner for Game 5.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I don’t think there’s actually a wrong decision for Kris Knoblauch because I think whichever way you go, it’s very, very justified. You can point to the fact that this is your last chance to go to Calvin Pickard. If you think Stuart Skinner has given you his peak, and he gave you peak for three weeks. If you think you’re getting a decline now, you can’t take that chance in Game 4. On the other hand…the later a series gets, Stuart Skinner always gets better.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…