The Oilers will give Calvin Pickard his fifth straight start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena
LAS VEGAS, NV – Goaltender Calvin Pickard will receive his fifth consecutive start in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night when the Edmonton Oilers open up their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena.
The 33-year-old was the only netminder to go a perfect 4-0-0 in the First Round after he replaced Stuart Skinner for Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings, backstopping the Oilers to four straight victories with an .893 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average after they dropped the first two games.
Tuesday’s pre-game skate was optional for the Oilers, but during their full-team practice at the Downtown Community Arena before the team’s flight to Las Vegas on Monday morning, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch had his top line loaded up with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl next to veteran Corey Perry.
With their depth having been a major factor in Round 1 against Los Angeles, Coach Knoblauch feels a lot more confident tapping into that by putting the two Oilers superstars on the same line and spreading out the rest of their depth up front as they try to match the four-line approach of the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights ended their series against the Minnesota Wild with a top line of William Karlsson, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone that has the potential and confidence to play against anyone, and the Oilers will have to adapt on the fly depending on what their opponents throw out with the last change at home.
“We’ll wait and see what they do,” Knoblauch said. “We will obviously have our lineup and they’ll be able to match, and we’ll see what they want to do. If they want to go top line against top line, there’s a lot of things that we have to be prepared for. I don’t think they’re a team that will want their matchups, but I don’t think they’re one to hide away from it. I think they feel comfortable with their fourth line playing some shifts against our top line because they feel comfortable with their depth and we’re in that same situation.”
More to follow.
Kris addresses the media from T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday morning
View the Oilers Projected Game 1 Lineup vs. Vegas below:
Draisaitl – McDavid – Perry
Kane – Nugent-Hopkins – Hyman
Frederic – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Janmark – Arvidsson
Nurse – Bouchard
Walman – Klingberg
Kulak – Emberson
Pickard
Skinner
