EDMONTON – Another day, another hockey game.
Hockey fans sure love spring and summer, especially if their team is in the playoffs.
Edmonton Oilers fans can count themselves in with this group for a fourth consecutive season. It’s also the fourth playoff in a row that the Oilers have played the Los Angeles Kings (just in case you forgot).
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more.
But when you have a large portion of the same lineup that you did the previous season, you are bound to repeat the same mistakes. This year’s Oilers look to be doing things differently, particularly the coaching staff.
Kris Knoblauch has exhibited a notable amount of stubborn behavior during the regular season. Now that it’s the do-or-die portion of the season, it looks like he’s doing his best not to fall into insanity.
Oilers Have Massive Advantage Over Kings Now
Oilers’ Have Now Turned Into Wrecking Balls
Oilers Superfan Mark Carney Makes History
‘Pure Genius’: Oilers Legend Messier On What Made Gretzky Great
Oilers Fans Love Seeing Zack Kassian
Insanity is (sometimes) defined as repeating the same action over and over again and expecting a different result. That’s what they were doing with Stuart Skinner for a very long time.
The sad truth about Skinner is his lack of consistency. At this point, it’s not the most prominent attribute in his repertoire. However, let’s be realistic, he’s only 26 years old. Goalies are often late bloomers, and he’s not at the stage of being considered one.
Let us also remember that Skinner had a solid playoff run in 2024. However, that run was also marked by inconsistency.
Instead, they opt for Calvin Pickard. He has been consistently average throughout his entire career. To be frank, that’s all the Oilers need in their net.
Does he have his weaknesses? Certainly, but so does every other goaltender.
In the 2024 playoffs, Pickard came in for a few games to help Skinner get a reset. People can speculate that if Pickard had taken over the starters net in the series against the Vancouver Canucks, it may have been the Oilers lifting up the Stanley Cup instead of the Florida Panthers.
But that speculation would be misplaced.
All that fans, management, and the coaching staff can do right now is go a different route than they have before. That route includes giving Pickard his third consecutive playoff start.
Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.
Hockey News