PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Ducks

EDMONTON, AB – Goaltender Calvin Pickard will make a second straight start on Tuesday while forward Matt Savoie will be back in the lineup when the Edmonton Oilers begin a three-game homestand at Rogers Place against the Anaheim Ducks.

Pickard has won seven of his last eight starts after making 35 saves on Saturday night in a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, which halted their five-game losing streak before returning home for three games at Rogers Place this week.

The 32-year-old gets the reward of starting back-to-back games for the first time this season with the better results over Edmonton's last 15 games with a 4-2-0 record, a 2.84 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in his last six.

Pickard's only consecutive starts with the Oilers came in the Games 4 & 5 of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Vancouver.

"I think both goaltenders have been playing really well. Picks has just really come up big, especially last game against Carolina," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I think he's won his last 12 of his 14 starts – quality starts too – but this is not a slight on a Skinner. It's just a reward for our backup goalie who's been playing extremely well and being able to win games.

"So we felt that it was right that he got the start today."

Savoie will replace Jeff Skinner up front and play on the second line alongside Viktor Arvidsson and Leon Draisaitl after the St. Albert product skated in a top-six white jersey during Monday's practice at Rogers Place. The 21-year-old was a healthy scratch in Edmonton's final two games of their previous five-game road trip and brings an element that Coach Knoblauch likes in the top six with how their forward group is constructed.

"I think it's more on identity and fitting what our team needs, and Savoie had a couple good games, had some chances and adds a little speed to our lineup, which I think is important for our team," he said.

"Right now you've got our third and fourth line having more of an identity in checking roles, so I just felt that [Savoie and Skinner] are very similar types of players. But with Savvy, what he provided in his couple games that he's played, we felt that if he is here he should be playing, and I think he deserves that. We're looking forward to see what he gives us tonight."

Despite defencemen Mattias Ekholm (maintenance) and Brett Kulak (illness) missing yesterday's skate, the two blueliners are expected to be good to go for tonight's meeting with Anaheim along with Darnell Nurse, who's missed the previous two games with an undisclosed injury.

Defenceman Cam Dineen was brought up from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on an emergency basis Tuesday to provide necessary backup if one of the three weren't able to play.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Anaheim below:

Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Hyman
Savoie - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Podkolzin - Kapanen - Perry

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Klingberg
Kulak - Emberson

Pickard
Skinner