Knoblauch undecided on Oilers' goalie for Game 5 against Canucks

VANCOUVER -- Kris Knoblauch isn’t sure which goalie will start for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Calvin Pickard made 19 saves in a 3-2 win in Game 4 in Edmonton on Tuesday, his first career start in the Stanley Cups Playoffs, after Stuart Skinner started the first eight games for the Oilers, going 5-3 with an .877 save percentage.

Knoblauch said he will announce his starter for Game 5 (10 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX) on Thursday morning after talking about the lineup with his coaching staff Wednesday afternoon, a similar consultation process to the one that led him to choose Pickard in Game 4.

“There's a lot of things that go into allowing me to make that decision,” he said. “Talking to a lot of people on staff and getting a feel from the players but mostly the assistant coaches, (general manager) Ken Holland, just everybody within the organization, trying to have it in perspective and gather as much information as I can and then we move on. Calvin came out and played really well.”

Pickard went 12-7-0 with a .909 save percentage this season after being called up from the American Hockey League on Nov. 8 in place of Jack Campbell, who was sent the other way. The 32-year-old played sparingly at times backing up Skinner, who was 36-16-5 with a .905 save percentage this season.

Pickard finished with his best NHL save percentage since a .922 mark with the Colorado Avalanche in 2015-16, earning the confidence of his coaches when they needed him in the playoffs.

“It looks like a great decision when the player comes out and performs,” Knoblauch said, “But the only reason why I felt confident going into that was Calvin's body of work through the season."

The Oilers coach is similarly confident in how the team has defended since taking over for Jay Woodcroft, who was fired along with assistant Dave Manson on Nov. 12 after starting the season 3-9-1. Knoblauch took over for Woodcroft, Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey replaced Manson, and the Oilers went 46-18-5 to finish second in the Pacific Division (49-27-6) behind Vancouver (50-23-9).

While much of the outside focus is on high-scoring forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers have given up 2.62 goals per game since Dec. 1, fifth best in the NHL, one spot ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (2.63), who they eliminated in five games in the first round, and two ahead of a Canucks team (2.76) widely praised for its improved defensive play this season.

“That's something we do take a lot of pride in and I don't think as our team we get enough credit for how well we do defend,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously you see the star power we do have and the offensive players that can pass, shoot, score goals and do that kind of thing, often the defensive side doesn't get recognized but we've understood if you're going to have success in the playoffs, you have to be a good defensive team, you have to have a good penalty kill, you have to be able to keep the puck out of your net 5-on-5.”

It's a lesson that was reinforced in the second round of last year’s playoffs, when the Oilers were tied 2-2 in their second round series against the Vegas Golden Knights before losing the next two games to the eventual Stanley Cup champions by a combined score of 9-5.

“Every series you learn how small the margins are and you can't give the other team anything because there's not much to give,” forward Zach Hyman said. “I don't think anybody calls us a defensive team, but I beg to differ. A lot of our offense comes off playing solid defense and if we're able to keep the other team to 2-3 goals, we've got a good chance because obviously we have pretty special offensive players and a pretty good power play, so it's a good recipe for us.”

The other change from last season’s second round loss against the Golden Knights is the goalie. Woodcroft stuck with Skinner as his starter in both Games 5 and 6, and he didn’t make it through either, giving up eight goals on 39 shots.

Knoblauch already made one goalie change. Whether he makes another remains to be seen, but the Oilers coach is confident in how his team will play in front of both.