Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Tagged with OT loss Thursday
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Pickard stopped 33 of 35 shots in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Lightning.
Pickard was beaten late in the third period by Nick Paul, who notched his first goal of the season, and later by Jake Guentzel, who buried the game-winning goal in overtime. Pickard has gone winless in his last five outings, a stretch in which he's 0-2-2 with an .854 percentage and a 4.19 GAA. He's not a reliable option in most fantasy formats right now, so he's better suited to stay on waivers in all leagues.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Guarding road goal
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Pickard is set to start on the road against Tampa Bay on Thursday, per Tony Brar of Oilers TV.
Pickard has appeared in just three of Edmonton's past 12 games, but his relatively light workload isn't surprising given that he's allowed at least three goals in each of his past six outings. He's 2-3-1 with a 4.18 GAA and an .830 save percentage through seven appearances this year. Tampa Bay has a 10-7-2 record and ranks 15th in goals per game with 3.11.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Allows five goals Thursday
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Pickard stopped 20 of 25 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Pickard was beaten once in the first period, three more times in the second and once more in the final frame. The 33-year-old veteran netminder has been delivering subpar performances of late and has gone winless in his last four outings, going 0-2-1 with a 4.85 GAA and an .821 save percentage over that span. Pickard has posted a save percentage above .900 in just one of his seven appearances this season.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Gets starting nod for Thursday
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Pickard will be between the pipes for Thursday's road clash with the Blue Jackets, Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels reports.
Pickard has seriously underwhelmed this season, giving up four or more goals in four of his six outings to start the year. The veteran netminder is 2-2-1 with an .836 save percentage. With the Oilers utilizing Stuart Skinner on the road against the Flyers on Wednesday, that will give Pickard the nod for the second half of the back-to-back.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Awful in relief
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Pickard stopped 16 of 21 shots in relief of Stuart Skinner in Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Avalanche.
Skinner gave up four goals on 13 shots and had a worse game by save percentage. That said, Pickard did nothing to stop the bleeding -- a better performance could have helped him stake a claim to more playing time. Over six appearances, Pickard is 2-2-1 with a 4.00 GAA and an .836 save percentage, putting him among the worst goalies this year in both categories. It's unclear who will start Monday's home matchup versus the Blue Jackets. The Oilers embark on a seven-game road trip that includes a pair of back-to-back sets after that, so both Pickard and Skinner will need to improve to avoid sending the team's season off the rails.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Tagged with loss Monday
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Pickard stopped 19 of 22 shots in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Blues.
Pickard made his first start since Oct. 26, when he suffered an overtime loss to the Canucks, and he didn't fare any better this time around. The Oilers were unable to hold an early two-goal lead, and Pickard was tagged with his second loss of the season. In five starts, the 33-year-old backup netminder has gone 2-2-1 with a 3.42 GAA and an .850 save percentage. His numbers are far from exciting, and he's only valuable in matchup-based situations as a streaming alternative, especially given he's nowhere close to stealing the starting gig off Stuart Skinner.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Starting in St. Louis
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Pickard will start Monday's road game against St. Louis.
Pickard has seen limited playing time early in the regular season, but he'll draw the start in the first half of a back-to-back set Monday. Over his four starts this season, he's gone 2-1-1 with a 3.50 GAA and .846 save percentage.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Loses in overtime
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Pickard stopped 23 of 27 shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Canucks.
Pickard was sharp enough in the third period to get the game to overtime, but he was beaten on a Kiefer Sherwood tip-in goal 1:43 into the extra session. With at least four goals allowed in each of his last three outings, Pickard is not playing well enough in the backup role to provide a meaningful challenge to Stuart Skinner's starting job. If both goalies continue to top out at average, the Oilers will likely feel pressure to make a change in the crease, and Pickard's $1 million cap hit makes him the easier netminder to move out in a trade. The Oilers don't have a back-to-back within the next week, so it's unclear when Pickard will get his next start.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Ugly outing in win
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Pickard stopped 22 of 27 shots in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Canadiens.
Pickard was far from his best in this contest, but the Oilers were able to pull off a comeback with a three-goal third period. The 33-year-old netminder improved to 2-1-0 on the year, but he's allowed 10 goals on 64 shots, so he has yet to really look comfortable between the pipes. Stuart Skinner has also had some troubles -- expect the Oilers to give both goalies fairly regular time until one can get in a groove. They should each get a start over the weekend with Edmonton set for road games in Seattle on Saturday and in Vancouver on Sunday.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Drawing start Thursday
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Pickard will defend the home crease against the Canadiens on Thursday, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.
Pickard has served as the Oilers' No. 2 netminder early in the regular season, but he'll draw his third start of the year Thursday. In his previous two outings, he went 1-1-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .865 save percentage.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Burned by Devils
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Pickard stopped 18 of 22 shots in Saturday's 5-3 loss to New Jersey, with the Devils' fifth goal getting scored into an empty net.
After a scoreless first period, the Devils' offense got rolling with a Jack Hughes tally midway through the second, and the Oilers were never able to catch up. Pickard has started two of Edmonton's first five games while working behind Stuart Skinner in the crease, going 1-1-0 and allowing five goals on just 37 shots.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Set to start Saturday
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Pickard is expected to start in Saturday's road game against New Jersey, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.
Pickard is making his second start of the campaign after stopping 14 of 15 shots in Edmonton's 3-1 win last Saturday against Vancouver. Pickard tends to do well against the Devils, posting a 4-1-0 record, 1.79 GAA and .927 save percentage across six career regular-season outings. New Jersey has a 3-1-0 record while ranking eighth in goals per game with 3.50 in 2025-26.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Steady in first win
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Pickard stopped 14 of 15 shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.
The Canucks didn't put up much of a fight, and Pickard stopped everything but a Brock Boeser tally early in the third period. It was a stronger showing than Stuart Skinner's shootout loss to the Flames on Wednesday. Pickard wouldn't have to do much to earn at least a 50-percent share of the starts in the Oilers' crease, and that'll be even easier for him to achieve if Skinner's performance remains mediocre. Head coach Kris Knoblauch hasn't yet named a starter for the first game of the Oilers' upcoming road trip, which is Tuesday against the Rangers.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Gets first start of season
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Pickard will be in the home crease versus Vancouver on Saturday, per Tony Brar of Oilers TV.
Pickard had a good 2024-25 campaign as Edmonton's second backup goalkeeper, going 22-10-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 36 regular-season contests. He could face a battle for a spot on the roster soon, as the Oilers picked up Connor Ingram in a deal with Utah. The Canucks scored five times Thursday in a win over Calgary.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Slated to start Friday
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Pickard is expected to guard the road goal for Friday's preseason game against Vancouver.
Stuart Skinner was originally scheduled to get the nod, but he's battling the flu. Pickard had a 22-10-1 record, 2.71 GAA and .900 save percentage across 36 regular-season outings with Edmonton in 2024-25. The 33-year-old Pickard is projected to open the campaign as the Oilers' No. 2 netminder behind Skinner.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Starting in Seattle
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Pickard will defend the road net against the Kraken on Wednesday, per Tony Brar of Oilers TV.
Pickard earned a 22-10-1 record with a 2.71 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 36 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. If Stuart Skinner continues to have consistency issues, Pickard will remain a fantasy-relevant backup option this campaign.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: In goal Friday
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Pickard will get the starting nod at home for Friday's preseason clash against Winnipeg, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.
Pickard played in 36 regular-season games for the Oilers last year in which he posted a 22-10-1 record, 2.71 GAA and .900 save percentage. Looking ahead to 2025-26, the 33-year-old netminder is expected to maintain the backup role for Edmonton behind Stuart Skinner but could get some more opportunities down the stretch.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Set to start Tuesday
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Pickard will patrol the road crease in Tuesday's preseason game versus the Jets, Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press reports.
Pickard looks set to begin 2025-26 as the backup netminder for the Oilers, though a strong preseason could earn him something closer to a 50-50 split with Stuart Skinner. Pickard went 22-10-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 36 regular-season games last year.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Ugly outing in Game 5
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Pickard stopped 14 of 18 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Pickard didn't get any support until the third period, but the Panthers were able to provide answers to both of the Oilers' goals. With Stuart Skinner fading over recent contests, Pickard could have secured the crease with a strong performance Saturday. Instead, after Pickard's first loss in 10 playoff outings (7-1), it's unclear which netminder will be tasked with the start in Game 6 in an attempt to get the Oilers back home for a winner-take-all Game 7.
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Oilers' Calvin Pickard: Facing Panthers in Game 5
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Pickard will patrol the home crease in Game 5 against Florida on Saturday, according to Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels.
Pickard has posted a 7-0 record with a 2.69 GAA and an .896 save percentage through nine outings this postseason. He has made two straight relief appearances, stopping 29 of 31 shots. After Stuart Skinner got the hook in Game 4 on Thursday, Pickard made 22 saves on 23 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory. With the best-of-seven series tied at 2-2, the winner of Game 5 will hold a substantial advantage in the battle for the Stanley Cup.
