(1P) Canucks at (2P) Oilers
Western Conference Second Round, Game 4
9:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN
Vancouver leads best-of-7 series 2-1
EDMONTON -- The Vancouver Canucks look to take a 3-1 series lead with a win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
Vancouver will be going up against a different goalie, with Calvin Pickard making his first Stanley Cup Playoffs start for Edmonton after Stuart Skinner started each of the Oilers' first eight playoff games.
"I had 'Picks' in Arizona for a bit (2018-19 season), and he's had a really good year for them," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "We did a scouting report on Pickard today, just to be safe, and obviously they're going with him tonight."
The Canucks scored 12 goals on 58 shots against Skinner through the first three games of the series.
Vancouver was outshot 45-18 in Game 3 and won 4-3.
"It's exciting, obviously all you can ask for is an opportunity in the Stanley Cup Playoffs," Pickard said Tuesday. "I felt like I had a good season and the preparation is done, and I'm excited to get out there."
Edmonton is looking to tie the series heading back to Vancouver for Game 5 on Thursday.
"It's a pivotal game on home ice," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "We've been a group that's done real well with our backs against the wall and bouncing back from a loss. We need to do that again tonight."
Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoffs series have advanced 90.7 percent of the time (312-32).
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:
1. In Pickard, the Oilers trust
Pickard earned the backup job to Skinner this season after Jack Campbell was assigned to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Nov. 7. He was 12-7-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 23 games (20 starts) this season.
"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 Tuesday. "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."
Pickard is in his ninth NHL season.
"I'm at a point in my career where worrying about other stuff isn't going to do me any favors," Pickard said. "I got that opportunity in November, and I've been saying it all year, I'm not trying to put too much pressure on myself and tonight's no different. I'm definitely excited and definitely looking for a win."
2. Next man up for Canucks
The Canucks will be without defenseman Carson Soucy, who was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for one game for cross-checking Oilers captain Connor McDavid at the end of Game 3.
Soucy has four assists in nine playoff games and is averaging 17:26 of ice time per game. Noah Juulsen, who has played one postseason game this season, will take Soucy's place in the lineup.
"It's a big one, 'Cars' has been awesome for us this year," Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said. "Him and I have been partnered together for most of the time and we've developed a lot of chemistry. But we've shown all year that eight of us [defensemen] that are on the team, we can play with each other, and we know exactly what we're doing when we step on the ice, and nobody is guessing when we're going out there."
Soucy (6-foot-5, 208 pounds) has been a big, physical presence for Vancouver in the series and has been deployed often along with Myers against Edmonton's top line of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Hyman.
"It's just next man up," Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. "[Juulsen] has done an unreal job for us; he's played a lot of hockey for us this year. Obviously 'Sous' brings a lot of good qualities to our team, so he'll be missed, but we have confidence in 'Juules.'"
3. Separating the dynamic duo
McDavid and Draisaitl are expected to play on separate lines after making up two-thirds of the top line in the first three games.
McDavid played 28:12 in Game 2 (4-3 overtime win) and 29:42 in Game 3, and Draisaitl played 27:05 in Game 2 and 29:04 in Game 3.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to move up to play with McDavid and Hyman, and Draisaitl will center right wing Evander Kane and left wing Dylan Holloway.
"I think tonight it's going to start like that and we can go back and forth in the game depending on how the flow is and how things are playing out," Knoblauch said. "Right now they'll center their own lines."
Draisaitl leads the NHL with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in the playoffs, and McDavid is second with 17 points (two goals, 15 assists).
Draisaitl has eight points (two goals, six assists) and McDavid has five points (one goal, four assists) in the series against Vancouver.
"Whether they play together or they're split, it's a tough challenge for us," Tocchet said.
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson
Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Nils Aman -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Christian Wolanin
Injured: Thatcher Demko (undisclosed), Nils Hoglander (undisclosed)
Suspended: Carson Soucy
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Vincent Desharnais
Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci
Philip Broberg
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Connor Brown, Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher
Injured: Adam Henrique (lower body)
Status report
Broberg would become the seventh defenseman if the Oilers opt to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Brown, a forward, being scratched. … Holloway moves up from the third line to the second to play on Draisaitl's wing, but Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch didn't rule out playing Draisaitl on the top line with McDavid should the situation arise.
