Calvin Pickard wasn’t THAT bad for Oilers in 5-3 loss to Panthers

Purely based on statistics Calvin Pickard did not play well against the Panthers, but the reality is he did more than most to keep the Oilers in the game.

Calvin Pickard was feeling positive ahead of his first NHL game of 2023-24, which would also be his Oilers regular season debut. Speaking to the media after practice on Sunday in Florida, he said:

“I’m feeling good. There’s been a lot of good practice time with (Dustin Schwartz). It’s good to be up here … and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

You imagine Pickard wasn’t feeling quite so good following Monday night’s game versus the Panthers. Instead of helping matters at the back, he got dragged into the mess that is the Oilers’ defensive game.

Despite getting out to an early 2-0 lead during the first period, the Oilers would go on to lose 5-3. As a result, they have the worst team save percentage and third-worst Goals Against Average in the NHL entering Tuesday’s slate of action.

However, despite the debacle in Florida, Pickard doesn’t really deserve much blame. He could only be considered at fault for the Panthers’ second goal, when he somehow let the puck get through him.

Teammate Darnell Nurse did the 31-year-old no favours, with the blue liner at fault for two of the home side’s goals. Nurse blocked his goalie’s view on the first Panthers goal and deflected the puck into the net for their third.

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The Panthers’ fourth goal came as a result of chaos in front of the Oilers net, but again it wasn’t on Pickard. And the fifth came as a result of an empty netter, when the visitors were chasing the tying goal with under a minute remaining in the game.

As a result, the 2010 second round draft pick finished the night with 27 saves on 31 shots at goal, for a .871 save percentage. Ultimately though, while he recorded the loss, he actually had a decent game.

Pickard made several important saves throughout the game to keep the Oilers in the contest, including a couple of top-notch ones during the second period. In the end though, he just wasn’t able to compensate for a team lacking in confidence and making far too many mistakes, which has been the case most of the season thus far.

The Moncton, New Brunswick native’s teammates appreciated his performance on the night. Speaking postgame, Mattias Ekholm said:

“(He was) great. I thought he seemed very calm back there. We could have played better in front of him. I think he made some really key saves in the third, to keep us in the game. So yeah, nothing but praise for him. I know it’s a tough situation coming in, having not played in the (NHL) for a while. He looked, again, very calm (and) did everything he could, so I thought he played really well.”

Making Pickard’s outing even more impressive, is this was his first NHL action since the 2021-22 campaign. And even then, he only started one game and appeared in just two other contests for the Detroit Red Wings.

Overall, the 2016 IIHF World Championship gold medallist will aim to continue providing solid backup relief in between the pipes. Of course this is pending the Oilers successfully finding another goalie in the trade market, with the matter becoming more pressing with every passing game.