Edmonton Oilers' goalie carousel keeps spinning in Stanley Cup Final
Published Jun 15, 2025 • 5 minute read
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Goalie Calvin Pickard (30) of the Edmonton Oilers makes a save on Brad Marchant (63) the Florida Panthers in game six of the Stanley Cup final in Edmonton on June 14, 2025. Photos by Shaughn Butts-Postmedia Photo by Shaughn Butts /10108326A1What’s worse than losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final?
Getting all the way back there the next year, only to lose to the same opponent in Game 6.
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That very situation is possible in every which way right now for the Edmonton Oilers, who head into Amerant Bank Arena facing an elimination game Tuesday in the very same building where the Florida Panthers hoisted hockey’s holy grail a year ago.
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That’s the last thing the Oilers want. Obviously.
The second last thing they want is to have another slow start where they fall behind early and often, to the point where head coach Kris Knoblauch has no choice but to change goalies to try and stay in what will otherwise be their last game.
To that effect, he has yet another decision to make as to who will start in net in Game 6: Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard.
Skinner has been the workhorse carrying the biggest load throughout the season, but his backup has had to come in on more than one occasion to shoulder said load and get the Oilers back on track down their playoff path after hitting the ditch.
The first was back during the initial steps into Round 1, where the Los Angeles Kings held a 2-0 series advantage before the switch to Pickard led to a prompt turnaround in the form of a six-game win streak that carried well into Round 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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And after Pickard ended up getting hurt, Skinner returned to pick up the torch as the Oilers went 6-2, with three shutouts, to reach the Cup final for the second year in a row. The run extended to 7-2 before running into trouble with back-to-back losses for the first time since playoffs opened.
Pickard made back-to-back appearances in relief, beginning with a 6-1 loss in Game 3, before puck-stopping the Oilers to a 5-4 victory in overtime after coming back from a 3-0 first-period deficit in Game 4.
It was more than enough to earn Pickard his seventh start of the playoffs, as he brought his 7-0 record into Rogers Place on Saturday, only to suffer his first defeat of the post-season, 5-2.
‘Didn’t have much chance’“From what I saw, Picks didn’t have much chance on those goals,” Knoblauch said post-game. “Breakaways, shots through screens, slot shots. There’s nothing saying it was a poor performance.
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“So, that’s what I see from it now.”
So, now what do you do?
Knoblauch has a choice in front of him. And it’s between the same two options he had heading into Game 5, only with different variables.
Last game, Knoblauch had the benefit of being able to go with the hot hand of the goalie who came in and snatched victory right from the Panthers’ jaws.
But that hand has since gone cold, even if it was no fault of Pickard’s.
If Knoblauch has an ace left up his sleeve, it’s the fact that Skinner has shown an ability to bounce back after having been brought out and given a chance to rediscover his focus. Those three shutouts in four games came just one game after his return to the crease. Only this time, the Oilers can’t afford to have him take one game’s worth of runway before taking flight.
The good news is, that was following an extended break while Pickard was on a six-win roll. This time around, there would be much less rust for Skinner to have to knock off.
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Additionally, Skinner has played significantly better in the back half of playoff series over the past two years, having gone 14-1 in starts during Games 4 through 7. Albeit, he was headed for a second loss his last time out before Pickard came in to save the day.
If the choice seems obvious, it’s not. Not to the guy who has to stake the entire season on it anyway.
“I’m not going to make that decision right now, after a tough loss like tonight,” Knoblauch said.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard takes the ice as teammate Stuart Skinner is benched during the third period against the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 9. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty ImagesNo more early deficitsWhat he doesn’t want to happen is for his choice of goalie to end up not making a difference, and not for the reason the Oilers have been saying why it doesn’t matter who is playing in net for them.
If they get behind by multiple goals in the first period again, as has been the case three times while allowing 11 first-period goals in the series, then it truly won’t matter who’s in goal.
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What they need is for Skinner to resume his place at the helm and steal the game for them with some big saves early on and hope the Oilers offence can add enough run support.
Basically, Skinner needs to take a page out of Sergei Bobrovsky’s book from down at the other end of the ice on Saturday, and take it with him to Florida for the next game. Or it might be the Oilers’ last game.
“I thought Sergei in the first 10 minutes got tested hard,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said post-game. “I thought that they came out right and fast, got through the neutral zone on us a couple times and he had to make a couple of big saves.
“And when you’re on the road, if you can keep the building from lighting up in the first 10 minutes, that’s just a big part of the emotions of what goes on. So I thought that his performance, especially early game, was key.”
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
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On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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