Calvin Pickard will start for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).
The Oilers trail 2-1 in the best-of-7 series after a 4-3 loss in Game 3 on Sunday, when Stuart Skinner allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled and replaced by Pickard in the third period.
“It’s exciting,” Pickard said after the morning skate Tuesday. “Obviously all you can ask for is an opportunity in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I felt like I had a good season, and the preparation is done and I’m excited to get out there.”
Pickard, who made three saves in the third period in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, was 12-7-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and one shutout in 23 regular-season games (20 starts). He is 47-61-11 with a 2.93 GAA, .904 save percentage and five shutouts in 139 career regular-season games (113 starts) for the Oilers, Detroit Red Wings, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.
“Obviously the last five, six or seven years since I’ve been in the NHL, [I’m] consistently just believing in myself,” Pickard said. “I know I can play at this level, and this year I proved it to myself and everyone around me. It’s a really good opportunity tonight and I feel like I’m ready.
“I’m fighting for my life every game. Back in November, when I’m getting my first start in November in Florida, it’s a big game for me, and tonight’s a big game for me. They’re all big, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Skinner is 5-3 with a 3.22 GAA and .877 save percentage in eight playoff games. He has allowed 12 goals on 58 shots against the Canucks (4.40 GAA, .793 save percentage).
Edmonton outshot Vancouver 45-18 in the Game 3 loss and holds a 94-61 edge in shots on goal in the series.
"Obviously you never want to get pulled in a game; you feel like you let down the team, so I have some work to do to get back at it and learn from the mistakes that I have been making," Skinner said Monday.
Skinner was 36-16-5 with a 2.62 GAA, .905 save percentage and two shutouts in 59 regular-season games (57 starts).
"I'm expecting what I've seen from Calvin all season, a goaltender that's competed hard, played very well for us and piled up a lot of victories,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It's not an ideal situation; he hasn't been playing for a long time, but he's gone long stretches without playing and I think the team has a lot of confidence in Calvin when he has played. And he's going to be our guy.
"Sometimes I think it's unfair; goalies get too much credit and also too much blame when things aren't going well. And as a team, we want to make the shots easy for him to see and be on the perimeter as much as possible. And there are going to be breakdowns, and that's where the goaltender has to make a big save when warranted. But as a team we can make a goaltender's job a lot easier by how we defend."
NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest and independent correspondent Gerry Moddejonge contributed to this report
