Oilers' starting goalie for Game 2 not a "clear cut" decision, opines NHL analyst

Edmonton Oilers have a tough decision to make before Game 2 against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. TSN Hockey analyst Frankie Corrado said it’s not clear who should start in the net. Stuart Skinner gave up six goals on 30 shots in Game 1. Corrado said a goalie change to Calvin Pickard should not be ruled out. He thinks both goalies have shown enough to compete for the job.

"I don't think it's a complete non-starter that you can't name a different goaltender—in this case, Calvin Pickard—for game two," Corrado said. "Like, Stuart Skinner didn't have a great night. You can't blame it all on the players. The goaltender has to give you a save at times."

Skinner was strong against the Kings in the regular season. He had a 1.95 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in two games. But his overall season stats were not as strong. Skinner finished the year with a .896 save percentage, his lowest in three seasons. Corrado mentioned Skinner's performance in last season and talked about expectations.

"We know Stuart Skinner is capable of more based on what we saw last season in the playoffs," Corrado said. "But what we saw in the regular season from both of these goaltenders leaves that competition wide open as far as who should get the net.

"And Calvin Pickard played well, especially down the stretch. He was the goaltender who was relied on for the Edmonton Oilers. He got 22 wins this year. He had a .900 save percentage. So it's not like it's clear-cut, this is Stuart Skinner's net,... It's wide open in Edmonton.

The Oilers need better goaltending to even the series. Corrado said that he doesn’t think the team can rely only on offense.

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Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard's performance late in the season

Calvin Pickard had a rough outing in his last start, which was against the LA Kings. He allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 5-0 loss. The Oilers were short-handed in that game, which affected the result. Before that, Pickard had won five of six starts. He posted a 2.58 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage over his last seven games.

Corrado pointed out that Pickard played more often late in the season.

"And with how much you played Pickard down the stretch, you should feel confident—or at least somewhat confident—that you could make a goaltender change in the middle of the series and see if you get a better result that way," Corrado said.

Pickard finished the regular season with 22 wins. Now, the coaching staff has to decide between experience and recent form and Game 2 will show us if they made the right choice.