Can Calvin Pickard backstop another Cup Final rally for the Oilers?

There is an creation to becoming a full-time NHL starting goaltender.

There is art, too, successful being a palmy NHL backup.

It requires embracing the unknown. It's preparing to play without really playing. There are agelong stretches of nary puck touches -- but the anticipation of delivering your champion astatine a moment's notice.

That benignant of unit isn't for everyone. But Edmonton Oilers' goaltender Calvin Pickard isn't conscionable anyone. He has forged a vocation excelling successful secondary roles, the classical blue-collar contributor exemplifying enactment ethic and a straightforward mentality. One time astatine a time. One crippled aft another.

It's not easy. Pickard conscionable makes it look that way.

"I conjecture you'd accidental he's 1 of the uncommon goalies," Oilers guardant Evander Kane said. "He's conscionable a mean guy. He's truly fashionable successful [our] room."

And how. Pickard has helped prevention Edmonton from back-breaking deficits successful this NHL postseason not once, but twice. And Pickard could beryllium connected way to support the Oilers live again arsenic they look elimination successful Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers connected Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT/Max).

That's arsenic pressure-packed arsenic it gets, yet Pickard's astir caller efforts showcased a goalie astatine his peak.

Pickard entered the Final arsenic Edmonton's No. 2 down Stuart Skinner. He looked connected arsenic the Oilers divided the series' archetypal 2 games, and past entered troubled waters. Skinner started again successful Game 3, and Florida pounded Edmonton 6-1. Coach Kris Knoblauch replaced Skinner with Pickard precocious successful that debacle, wherever each Pickard could connection was cleanup duty.

Edmonton moved connected to Game 4 with a 2-1 bid deficit, carrying an undeniable whiff of fragility that was astir to beryllium painfully exposed.

Knoblauch passed implicit Pickard for Skinner arsenic his starter. The effect was disastrous. Skinner gave up 3 goals connected 14 shots successful the archetypal period, for an .824 prevention percentage. Edmonton limped disconnected the crystal down 3-0 and Knoblauch had to bash something.

Enter Pickard.

The 33-year-old took implicit Edmonton's crease and backstopped them to a shocking comeback arsenic the Oilers scored 3 second-period goals for a 3-3 necktie heading into the third. Pickard was fantabulous holding disconnected the Panthers' onslaught with tough, captious stops that gave the Oilers a accidental to connection immoderate extremity enactment astatine the different end. And Edmonton's eventual 5-4 triumph successful overtime would not person been imaginable without Pickard's 22 saves.

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How 'clutch' Calvin Pickard helped spur Oilers to Game 4 win

Steve Levy and Kevin Weekes interruption down the Oilers' comeback triumph successful overtime successful Game 4 to adjacent the bid with the Panthers.

It was elemental capable past that erstwhile the bid returned to Edmonton tied 2-2 going into Game 5 connected Saturday that Pickard would person astatine slightest 24 hours announcement of his adjacent playing time. That it was happening successful the Cup Final could rattle different goalies who hadn't really started a afloat crippled successful 5 weeks.

But past again, Pickard isn't a emblematic backup. He's built differently.

"I conjecture you could look astatine [Game 5] arsenic the biggest crippled successful my life, but the past crippled was the biggest crippled successful my beingness until the adjacent one," Pickard said. "It's rinse and repetition for me. It's been a large journey; I've been to a batch of bully places. Grateful that I had the accidental to travel to Edmonton a mates years ago, and this is what you play for. I'm excited."

The crippled itself didn't spell to program for Edmonton. The Oilers fell down aboriginal -- again -- and this clip nary fig of eye-popping stops by Pickard (including a monolithic 1 connected Carter Verhaeghe successful the archetypal period) could prevention Edmonton from itself successful a 5-2 loss.

Pickard's stat enactment was anemic -- giving up 4 goals connected 18 shots for a .778 prevention percent -- but Knoblauch wasn't convinced helium was the problem. Nor would Knoblauch perpetrate to him for Game 6.

"I'm not going to marque that determination close present aft a pugnacious nonaccomplishment tonight," the manager said aft Game 5. "But from what I saw, I deliberation Picks didn't person overmuch accidental connected each those goals. Breakaways, shots done screens, slot shots. There was thing saying that it was a mediocre performance."

It was Pickard's archetypal nonaccomplishment successful the postseason, a testament to his assemblage of work. It wasn't truthful agelong agone helium was successful power of the Oilers' crease. A stronger squad effort successful beforehand of Pickard could person him shining determination again Tuesday; Edmonton has been outscored 15-8 successful its past 3 games, a frustrating world fixed the Oilers' extent of violative endowment and antiaircraft capabilities.

"The prime of opportunities were truly bully [in Game 5], truthful there's nary responsibility astatine Calvin astatine each connected immoderate of those goals," Knoblauch said. "When the pressure's not connected [the goalies] that they person to marque each azygous prevention to support this adjacent oregon support america up [it's better]. It'd beryllium bully to get immoderate extremity support. [Game 5] was a lawsuit wherever we were having trouble generating offense. It'd beryllium bully to person that pb and play knowing that they person to unfastened things up erstwhile they're trailing."

THE OILERS WERE successful a atrocious spot midway done the archetypal round.

They'd entered the playoffs among the field's Cup favorites aft making the Final a twelvemonth ago, falling determination successful Game 7 to the aforesaid franchise they're battling now. The Oilers rebounded successful a beardown regular season, finishing 3rd successful the Pacific Division with 101 points.

It was worrisome past that they started the postseason with a thud, falling down 2-0 successful their first-round bid against the Los Angeles Kings. Skinner was Edmonton's starter astatine the time, and had fixed up 11 goals successful those 2 defeats. Pickard had watched (almost) each of it hap from the bench, prevention for a little quality precocious successful Game 2.

Knoblauch tapped Pickard to commencement successful Game 3. Cue different comeback.

Pickard helped the Oilers reel disconnected 4 consecutive wins to vanquish the Kings and nonstop Edmonton to the 2nd round. He peeled disconnected different brace of wins against the Vegas Golden Knights to spot Edmonton a 2-0 bid pb -- lone to prolong a lower-body wounded successful Game 2 that would chopped his magical postseason tally disconnected astatine 6-0-0 with an .892 prevention percent and 2.76 goals-against average.

Edmonton again turned to Skinner, who responded with a sensational tally of his ain starring the Oilers done their Western Conference finals bid against the Dallas Stars. The now-healthy Pickard was much of a spectator again. Biding his clip had go 2nd nature.

"The past mates of years, [Skinner] has played overmuch much than I have," Pickard said. "So, signifier clip is immense for me. [Our staff] has maine dialed successful erstwhile I'm not playing and doing antithetic drills to replicate situations successful games, and for erstwhile that accidental comes."

Pickard has learned however to leverage his reps, perceiving each 1 arsenic meaningful adjacent erstwhile the result is simply a foregone conclusion.

"Getting the clip successful Game 3 [of the Final] astatine the end, adjacent erstwhile it was retired of manus determination [with the score], it's inactive bully crystal clip for maine to get retired determination and spot crippled action," Pickard said. "That propelled maine to beryllium acceptable for Game 4. [Any of that] signifier time's huge."

It's besides fitting for a goalie similar Pickard -- who tin revel entering a rout -- to beryllium connected the way to a perchance distinctive feat. According to ESPN Research, the past clip aggregate goalies connected a Cup-winning squad recorded decisions successful a Final for non-injury related reasons was erstwhile the Boston Bruins alternated betwixt Gerry Cheevers and Eddie Johnston successful 1972. Cheevers started Game 1, Game 3 and the clinching Game 6 successful that series.

Skinner and Pickard are besides lone the 2nd tandem successful NHL past to person each recorded astatine slightest 7 victories successful a azygous postseason, joining Marc-Andre Fleury (nine wins) and Matt Murray (seven) during the Pittsburgh Penguins' Cup tally successful 2017.

But Pickard's roadworthy present wasn't rather similar his predecessors -- oregon his existent goalie teammate.

Pickard was drafted by Colorado successful the 2nd circular astatine No. 49 successful the 2010 NHL draft. His archetypal and lone play arsenic a starter for the Avalanche was successful 2016-17, erstwhile helium filled successful for injured Semyon Varlamov.

Colorado exposed him that summertime successful the enlargement draught and Pickard was selected by Vegas, with the thought he'd beryllium Fleury's backup. But the Golden Knights besides selected Malcom Subban disconnected waivers and enactment him down Fleury instead. Pickard was past enactment connected waivers and picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sent him to the minors.

From there, the New Brunswick, Canada, autochthonal kept moving around, waived by Toronto and past Philadelphia earlier a little stint successful Arizona. In July 2019, Pickard signed arsenic a escaped cause with the Detroit Red Wings -- his 5th squad successful 2 years -- and inactive couldn't instrumentality clasp successful the NHL. He toggled betwixt the Red Wings and the American Hockey League for 3 seasons.

In July 2022, Pickard arrived successful Edmonton ... benignant of. He signed a two-year, two-way woody with the nine and spent his archetypal play successful the AHL. Pickard yet saw sustained NHL play the adjacent play arsenic the Oilers grappled with struggling starter Jack Campbell, giving Pickard his astir games successful the league (23) since 2016-17. That was capable to support him connected arsenic Skinner's backup this season.

The rest, arsenic they say, is history. Pickard's patience done the process has impressed those teammates present relying connected him to propulsion them done to a Cup title.

"He's been doing this for a agelong time, helium has a ton of acquisition and been to a batch of antithetic dressing rooms," Kane said. "That tin assistance you on erstwhile you bash travel connected to antithetic teams, making a small spot of an easier transition. Now you're conscionable seeing that off-ice construe connected to the crystal with his performance, and however overmuch he's helped america to wherever we are present contiguous ... successful the Stanley Cup Final."

If radical weren't paying attraction to Pickard erstwhile helium stepped successful for Skinner against the Kings, there's nary uncertainty each eyes are connected him now. It's attraction that Pickard has earned.

"[Pickard is] idiosyncratic who's conscionable benignant of stuck with it each on and he's been a existent pro and a large idiosyncratic each the mode through," Edmonton skipper Connor McDavid said. "I deliberation bully radical get rewarded and helium works arsenic hard arsenic I've seen. Couldn't beryllium much deserving."

KNOBLAUCH ISN'T ONE to beryllium rushed.

He has been cagey astir naming a starter passim the Final. That volition clasp existent again for Game 6.

"[It's] a speech with the staff, evidently our goaltending coach, Dustin Schwartz, but with each the assistants, the wide manager," Knoblauch said. "[We'll] benignant of measurement successful however everyone feels and what's champion moving forward. It's not an casual decision. We've got 2 goalies that person shown that they tin play highly well, triumph hockey games and we consciousness that nary substance who we choose, they tin triumph the game."

Pickard's numbers successful the bid (.878 SV%, 2.88 GAA) are stronger than Skinner's (.860 SV%, 4.20 GAA) and they are connected par for the full postseason (Pickard holds an .886 SV% and 2.85 GAA to Skinner's .891 SV% and 2.99 GAA). Their records, though, are rather different: 7-1 for Pickard, 7-6 for Skinner.

So, who gives the Oilers their champion accidental to triumph Game 6 and resistance Florida backmost to Edmonton for a 2nd consecutive Game 7 finale betwixt these teams successful the Cup Final?

If Pickard does get the call, it volition beryllium a culmination of 10 years of accordant effort to beryllium trusted erstwhile there's nary tomorrow. There's lone the contiguous infinitesimal -- wherever the close backup goalie has ever been trained to enactment ready.

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Weekes perplexed by Oilers: 'They look similar a ammunition of themselves'

Kevin Weekes calls retired the vigor level by the Oilers successful their Game 5 nonaccomplishment to the Panthers successful the Stanley Cup Final.