Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has opted to make a few lineup changes, notably a major shakeup in net. The starting goaltender for the game is going to be Calvin Pickard, which will be a good test for the Oilers' backup netminder.
In the last meeting between the two clubs over the weekend, the Oilers blanked the Kraken 4-0 with Stuart Skinner between the pipes, stopping all 26 shots he faced. He followed that performance up with a strong outing against the Minnesota Wild, allowing only a single goal on the game.
However, he gets yanked in favour of Pickard whose last start was a strong 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning where he stopped 33 of 35 shots against. Knoblauch and the Oilers hope that he is able to play like this on Thursday night.
Switching from the hot hand is a risky move, especially as the team has seemingly started to turn things around with their performances in recent games. Their game Thursday represents an important match and potentially a big turning point for the club this season.
Players to watch
Calvin Pickard
Of course, given the circumstances, fans will be paying close attention to how Pickard performs in this game. He not only has struggled this year with a .847 save percentage through seven starts so far. He is also taking over for Skinner who has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Knoblauch made another notable change to his lineup, moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the third line centre role to first line left wing. It appears to be a way that the Oilers hope to generate more offensive output following a game they were shutout. However, it also seems risky given the depth scoring issues that the club has faced by loading up their top line.
Leon Draisaitl
The Oilers German star, Leon Draisaitl has been consistently one of the club's best players all season long. He entered this season with Selke Trophy aspirations but has not skipped a beat offensively and is on pace for 46 goals, 49 assists and 95 points. Over his past nine games, he has five goals and eight assists for 13 points over that span, showing a major uptick in production on the year of late. In this game, he should look to rally the team after last game's shutout performance.